According to reports, security agents detained Abusalma on Friday. He was subsequently arraigned in court and remanded in a Kano prison.
This arrest follows plans by some youths to hold a protest tagged #EndBadGovernment, which has gained traction in the North. Abusalma, who supports the planned action, made a now-deleted video urging resistance against Islamic clerics who spoke against the protest.
“Any religious leader who spoke against peaceful protest over hardship is not part of those suffering,” Abusalma stated in the video. “And whoever stops you from expressing your grievances to your leaders through peaceful protest as provided by the constitution, I swear he is not among those who can’t afford a sack of maize at N100,000. I personally bought a bag of fertilizer for N49,000. That was the price of a sack of maize in the past. As I speak to you now, I gather that the price of fertilizer has increased.”
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He clarified that he was not instigating violence, but said that if the protest led to the dethronement of the current government, “then so be it.”
“If protest will lead to the overthrow of the government, so be it. Any cleric who preaches against protest should be pulled down from the pulpit. Pull him down,” he said.
A relative of Abusalma, Mustapha Hamza, confirmed the arrest to journalists, revealing that the TikToker is currently being held at Kurmawa prison in Kano State.
“He left home in a hurry on Wednesday morning after receiving an urgent call around 8:30 am. He left without even eating breakfast. That was the last time his family saw him,” Hamza said.
“We reported the matter to the police station, and they immediately made a radio call, declaring him a missing person. As we continued searching for his whereabouts, I received a call yesterday (Friday) around 5:30 pm, with the caller informing me that Junaidu was at Kurmawa prison in Kano. He further revealed that Court 38 Zungeru Road, Kano, ordered his remand and adjourned the case till after three weeks.”
Amnesty International (AI), in a statement issued on Sunday, demanded the immediate release of Abusalma, accusing the Nigerian government of punishing him for exercising his fundamental rights.
“The Nigerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release social media activist Junaidu Abdullahi (Abusalma), who was imprisoned in Kano for posting a viral TikTok video calling for a peaceful protest against widespread hunger across the country. #FreeAbusalma,” the human rights organization stated.
The statement also referenced previous incidents of government crackdowns on dissent, noting that “arresting critical voices should not be the priority of the Nigerian authorities at a time when millions are on the brink of starvation, facing widespread malnutrition and severe poverty.”
