Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested Salihu Tanko-Yakasai, a social media aide to Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, hours after he called for the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari.
On Friday, Tanko-Yakasai took to Twitter and described the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) a failure after news broke out of the abduction of 317 schoolgirls from a secondary school in Jangebe, Zamfara state.
“Clearly, we as APC government, at all levels, have failed Nigerians in the number 1 duty we were elected to do which is to secure lives & properties. Not a single day goes by without some sort of insecurity in this land. This is a shame! Deal with terrorists decisively or resign,” he had tweeted.
Hours after the tweet, the whereabouts of Ganduje’s spokesman was not known.
But in a tweet on Saturday, an official of the Kano state government said Tanko-Yakasai is with the DSS.
“Alhamdulillahi we just confirmed @dawisu is at DSS office,” the official tweeted.
Spokesman for the secret police Peter Afunanya is yet to comment on the development.
This is not the first time Tanko-Yakasai will be arrested by the country’s secret police over his tough stance on the Nigerian leader’s perceived leadership failure.
At the height of last year’s demonstrations against police brutality in October, Ganduje’s aide asked the president to address the country over calls to disband the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) at the time.
“To speak to ur own ppl over issues that are bedevilling them has become something like a favour u’re doing to them. Over & over again, u cannot spare 5mins & address the nation to calm them down, the same people u went to the 36 states to beg for their votes, its heartbreaking,” Tanko-Yakasai had said on Twitter.
While the governor suspended him for the comments, he was later reinstated.
By Abel Ejikeme