Coalition condemns arrest of woman who lamented killings by bandits in Sokoto

Voices for Inclusion and Equity (VIEW), a Northern coalition, has condemned the arrest and detention of a woman, Hamdiya Sidi, in Sokoto State.

Sidi was said to have been arrested for “embarrassing” Sokoto State governor, Ahmad Aliyu, on social media.

The woman had in a video lamented the insecurity in the state and demanded an end to the incessant killings by bandits.

She revealed how gunmen took over villages without any restraint, adding that displaced women seeking refuge in the state capital were being sexually exploited due to abject poverty and squalor.

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In a statement on Friday, Sokoto police command’s spokesperson, Ahmad Rufai, said Sidi was arrested and prosecuted for inciting unrest in the state.

Weighing in on the development, VIEW, in a statement on Monday, condemned it in its entirety.

The statement was jointly signed by Asma’u Joda, Saudatu Mahdi, Maryam Uwais, Aisha Oyebode, Amina Salihu, Mairo Mandara, Kadaria Ahmed, Fatima Akilu, Rabi Jimeta and Aisha Waziri Ibrahim.

The coalition urged governor Aliyu to publicly kick against the treatment accorded “this courageous young lady, in recognition of his responsibility and leadership role to protect his citizens.”

“We expect him (Sokoto governor) to support her and also listen to her pleas for support, with a view to addressing them. His public denouncement would send a message that the State values the lives and safety of its women. Ignoring her pleas for her community, and indeed, the State at large only deepens the wounds that violence has already inflicted on Northern Nigeria’s social fabric,” the statement said.

It added: “In any just society, a woman has the right to speak out against the conditions that threaten her life and dignity. Northern women deserve this right to speak out, without fear of violence or retribution. Their demands should flow naturally as a right, not a privilege. This is not just about one woman’s freedom but about the rights of all Northern women who refuse to be silenced in the face of brutality.

“Regrettably, this persecution of individuals, who speak up on the challenges being faced in our country, is becoming commonplace. The Northern Governors need to protect and support their suffering citizens while addressing the issues being raised, rather than take offence at the emerging realities.

“The ruling party, the APC, which is also Governor Aliyu Ahmed Sokoto’s party, would do well to demand that the Governor do well by his citizens. So too, the Inspector General of Police should call his men to order, since it was the police who took it upon themselves to detain Hamdiya for ‘inciting unrest’; a young defenseless girl who merely expressed her empathy for members of her community, demanding for succour.

“Our Governors must be reminded of their responsibilities as leaders, even of beleaguered, conflict-ridden spaces and communities within their jurisdictions. The suffering is unbearable and the attacks unrelenting. We join Hamdiyya in pleading for mercy and support for those afflicted by violence, death and destruction in their jurisdictions. Our Governors must stand firm in the protection of the vulnerable. They must not exacerbate the suffering by oppressing the weak who do not have the wherewithal to protect themselves. As the saying goes in hausa, you cannot beat a person and then stop him or her from crying!”