Ban Aisha Buhari From Human Rights Events For Torturing Student - Adeyanju Tells International Community

Mr. Deji Adeyanju, the Convener of Concerned Nigerians, has slammed Aisha Buhari.

Adeyanju called on the international community to ban Mrs Aisha Buhari from either attending or speaking at human rights events.

He said this would demonstrate their condemnation of the unlawful arrest and torture of a student by security agencies on her orders.

SaharaReporters earlier reported that Muhammed, a final-year student in the Department of Environmental Management and Toxicology, in June 2022 posted on Twitter that Mrs Buhari had suddenly added weight after taking part in plundering the nation’s meagre resources as the masses endured hardship under her husband’s regime.

The wife of the President is known for taking trips to Dubai.

The tweet, which was posted in Hausa reads: “Su mama anchi kudin talkawa ankoshi.”

The tweet, which was accompanied by a photograph of Mrs Buhari, can be loosely translated as “Mama has eaten poor people’s money and is now full”.

According to his friends, he made the post because he was frustrated about the prolonged strike embarked upon by university lecturers across the country.

On November 8, the 23-year-old student was picked up by security operatives on campus and was reportedly beaten up following his arrest around noon.

A statement issued by Adeyanju on Wednesay partly reads: “Aisha Buhari is feeding fat on our money. However, while it is acknowledged that Mohammed’s post only speaks to facts because of available statistics. According to reports; the estimated yearly budget for food & travels for Aso Rock from 2016 till date is: 2016 – N3.27 billion; 2017 – N3.11 billion; 2018 – N3.81 billion; 2019 – N3.39 billion; 2020 – N7.46 billion; 2021 – N6.07 billion; 2022 – N6.77 billion. From these gulping budgeted sums, one can only safely posit that Mohammed’s assertion is the complete truth as the First Lady has been feeding fat on taxpayers’ money used in offsetting budget expenses for Aso Rock.”

Adeyanju said the conduct of the First Lady and the detailed security agencies is bereft of sound judgment.

He also described the treatment of Muhammed as oppressive, debasing and unconstitutional.

He said, "First off, for such arrest and torture of the student to have been triggered through the First Lady is demeaning to the office of the President and does not portray the entire country in a good light to the entire world, in terms of respect for citizens fundamental freedoms protected under the country’s Constitution.

"In the world over, it has been accepted that torture constitutes a serious matter of concern that threatens the life and dignity of human persons. This accounts for the emergence of the Convention Against Torture, 1984 amongst other human rights instruments.”

Adeyanju further said, "It is noted with concern that in a country with a judicial process, the First Lady resorted to self-help and could not utilize the instrumentality of the Law to seek redress if she feels defamed by Mohammed’s post, other than using State Apparatus — Law Enforcement Agencies to victimize citizens. This is to say the least, unlawful and unconstitutional as it portrays the country in undemocratic light. Besides, no one is above the Law. In the evergreen words of Lord Denning in Gourient v. Union of Post Office Workers (1978) AC 435, he said ‘to every subject in this land, no matter how powerful. . . Be you never so high, the Law is above you.’”

"Accordingly, the international community is called to ban Mrs Aisha Buhari from either attending or speaking at Human Rights events in demonstration of their condemnation against the First Lady’s conduct. In this regard, all the Security officials involved in this dastardly act should also be made to face the full wrath of the Law," he added.