The ongoing persecution of a whistleblower, Mahdi Shehu, by the Katsina State Government, is threatening the anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari, according to a civil society organisation.
The Movement for Good Governance and Greater Nigeria (MGGGN), a coalition of civil society organisations working to stamp out corruption and entrench good governance in the country, in a communique issued after its national executive council meeting held in Abuja at the weekend, questioned the government’s fight against corruption.
The communique signed by MGGGN’s executive director, Tokunbo Omowunmi – Lasisi and publicity director, Istifanus Wuyah Sheyin, said the continuous persecution of Shehu “is sending negative signals to the international community on the Buhari administration’s efforts of fighting corruption.”
The situation, the coalition said, “is worrisome when some federal agencies, particularly, the Nigerian Police Force, is found to be neck-deep in persecuting the whistleblower at the behest of Katsina State Government.
“It is disheartening to see a Nigerian being persecuted for advocating for the same ideals being canvassed by the president,” the coalition said.
The civil society said the whistleblower has been detained many times and dragged to five different courts over the same charges for simply asking EFCC to investigate what he believed is an abuse of public funds.
The MGGGN said its findings revealed that Mr Shehu “wrote 9 different petitions and adopted same with attached pieces of evidence to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), calling for investigations of allegations of financial impropriety in Katsina State.”
“While EFCC was investigating these petitions, the Katsina State Government, and some of its prominent officials and contractors, became jittery and decided to truncate the anti-graft agency’s investigations by writing a criminal complaint against the whistleblower to the state commissioner of police,” the anti-graft coalition said.
They said the Katsina police chief “swiftly acted on the state attorney general’s complaint by raising a FIR and charged Mr Mahdi Shehu before the Chief Magistrate Court (CMC 1) Katsina for ‘defamation, forgery and inciting the public against the Katsina State Government.’”
“By way of Appeal and Cross-Appeal, the same case is in High Court No. 4 Katsina before His Lordship Justice Bawale (J) to determine the Certiorari proceedings,” the coalition said.
It said while the CMC 1 and High Court cases are yet to be determined, the secretary to the state government went to the Upper Shari’ah Court Katsina and instituted the same matter that was before the CMC 1 with exactly the same facts, which it said, is a clear abuse of judicial process.
MGGGN said while all this was taking place, the case took another dimension when the Force Headquarters invited the whistleblower for an interview on November 25, 2020. He was granted bail after the ‘interview’ with ACP A.A. Elleman.
“Surprisingly, Mr Mahdi was detained for 14 days on the orders of the Inspector General of Police at the Asokoro police station where he was bitten by a snake and subsequently at the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau (FCIID) Garki.
“It is worthy of note to state that Mr Mahdi was also invited for an ‘interview’ over the same case by the Department of State Services (DSS) on the eve of his detention.
“While still in detention in Abuja, the Katsina police commissioners sent yet another invitation to Mr Mahdi’s office in Kaduna.
“The Katsina CP called severally to ask why Mr Mahdi didn’t honour his invitation having fully known that he was being detained in FCIID Abuja,” the communique said.
The coalition said the IGP released Mr Mahdi a night before the day an FCT High Court Abuja ordered him to bring the applicant to court for the determination of a case of enforcement of fundamental rights.
The force headquarters, therefore, remitted the case file to Katsina attorney general, who earlier filed criminal defamation against the whistleblower pending before CMC 1, the coalition said.
The Katsina attorney general filed the same case pending before various courts with a slight addition of ‘cybercrime charge’ at the Federal High Court Katsina.
Subsequently, two weeks after his release and while in isolation for treatment of COVID-19, the IGP office through ACP Elleman sent another invitation for “continuation of investigations.”
The whistleblower’s lawyers informed the IGP’s office of his condition in December 18, but the top police chief sent another invitation on January 4, 2021.
“Mr Mahdi was again arrested and bundled to Katsina for another bout of litigations. And he has been in detention ever since despite his failing health,” the coalition said.
The coalition urged President Buhari “to stop this persecution and abuse of court processes.
“Whistleblowers must be protected by the government. Agencies of government shouldn’t be seen working with retrogressive elements in rubbishing the administration’s anti-graft crusade.”
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