Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration over the prosecution of Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, and the arrest of Professor Usman Yusuf, a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Atiku described these actions as “systematic harassment and intimidation” of government critics. His reaction came after operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Yusuf on January 28, 2025, over allegations of a N4 billion fraud.
Speaking via his official X handle on January 30, 2025, Atiku said the charges against Sowore were baseless. He further claimed that the government was targeting opposition figures in an effort to suppress political dissent.
“When I made the clarion call that Tinubu and the APC were devoting their energies to the systematic harassment, intimidation, and dismantling of the opposition, all in service of their grand design for a one-party autocracy, I became the target of vicious attacks.
“The arrest and baseless prosecution of @YeleSowore is the latest chapter in this unrelenting campaign. Now, they have seen fit to add Professor Usman Yusuf—an outspoken critic of this administration—into their grim roster. At the pace they are going, it seems they may soon find themselves contending with the incarceration of every one of us.”
Atiku’s statement reinforced his previous claim that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is working to weaken opposition parties. During a recent national conference in Abuja, he alleged that the APC offered N50 million bribes to opposition parties to disrupt their leadership ahead of the 2027 elections.
His claim has sparked reactions from political circles. Both the Labour Party and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) have challenged Atiku to provide evidence supporting his allegation.
