By: Sunday Ameh
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration of transforming Nigeria into a “police state” characterized by fear, intimidation, and repression. Atiku warned that the country was sliding dangerously into dictatorship under the guise of enforcing law and order.
In a statement released on Monday titled “A Nation Gripped in the Throes of Fear,” the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the Tinubu-led government had “metamorphosed into a leviathan that thrives on intimidation,” using harsh legislation such as the Cyberstalking Act to silence journalists, critics, and opposition voices.
Atiku described the Cyberstalking Act as a “modern tool of tyranny reminiscent of colonial sedition laws,” weaponized by the current administration to suppress dissent and muzzle free speech. He lamented that several Nigerians remain in detention across the country for exercising constitutionally protected rights, while institutions that should serve as checks on executive power have become “silent accomplices.”
“There is a disturbing yet growing pattern by which the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu continues to muzzle free speech and, in so doing, erode the integrity of the democratic ethos that define our nation,” Atiku said. “If this creeping culture of repression continues unchecked, it will ultimately turn the Federal Government into a bully — and make subjects of free citizens.”
The opposition leader condemned the alleged use of state power to harass and imprison peaceful protesters and journalists, describing it as “an affront to democracy and human rights.” He insisted that no government should resort to intimidation or arbitrary arrests as a response to citizens’ frustrations over economic hardship, hunger, and despair.
“Rather than listen to the cries of suffering Nigerians, this government has chosen the path of intimidation — treating dissent as treason and turning peaceful protesters into prisoners,” Atiku said. “No responsible administration fires live canisters at peaceful protesters or hides behind ambiguous laws to arrest and re-arrest citizens granted bail by competent courts.”
Atiku further accused the Tinubu government of disregarding court rulings and violating human rights with impunity, claiming these actions have become its “most infamous credentials.” He decried the silence of critical democratic institutions — including the National Assembly and oversight agencies — alleging that they had been reduced to “rubber stamps” eager to please the presidency.
“Even institutions that should act as checks on executive excesses — the legislature, oversight agencies, and the judiciary — have become mere ornaments of approval,” he stated. “Their leaders are tripping over themselves to sing praises of a president few dare to question.”
The former vice president also referenced repeated alarms raised by international organizations, including Amnesty International, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, and Media Rights Agenda, over what he described as “the jackboot oppression of journalists and citizens by state agents.”
Atiku warned that the 2027 general election would serve as a critical turning point for Nigeria’s democracy, calling on citizens to resist any attempt to institutionalize authoritarianism.
“As a democrat and stakeholder in the opposition, I am convinced that the 2027 general election will be a defining moment — a contest not merely between political parties but between the Tinubu hegemony and the will of the Nigerian people,” he said. “History bears eternal witness to one truth: no despot, no matter how powerful, has ever triumphed over the collective voice of a determined people.”
Atiku’s statement comes amid increasing reports of arbitrary arrests, media clampdowns, and the use of security agencies to stifle opposition voices — developments that have drawn sharp criticism from civil society and human rights advocates.
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