The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has condemned the arrest of religious leader Sheikh Ahmad Tijani Umar by authorities following his visit to Kaduna on Sunday.
Obi, who raised the alarm in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, expressed concern that the development highlights the deeply troubling state of the nation and its democracy.
He noted that freedom of speech and movement are increasingly threatened, while citizens and perceived political opponents face harassment and unnecessary persecution.
“This cannot be allowed to continue,” he said, emphasising that Nigeria must defend freedom and free expression, which are the hallmarks of every democratic society.
Obi argued that the suppression and intimidation of dissent can never stand in a democratic society, urging the Nigerian government to recognise this fact.
He further called on all those bent on undermining what he described as “our already fragile democracy” to desist and uphold the rule of law and the tenets of democracy in dealing with citizens.
