Former Nigerian Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has issued a stern warning to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accusing his administration of sliding the country toward authoritarian rule.
In a strongly worded opinion piece titled “A Nation Gripped in the Throes of Fear,” Atiku alleged that Nigeria was fast becoming a police state, where citizens, journalists, and activists face harassment for expressing dissent.
“There is a disturbing yet growing pattern by which the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu continues to muzzle free speech and erode the integrity of our democracy.
“If this creeping culture of repression continues unchecked, it will ultimately turn the government into a bully, and make subjects of free citizens,” Atiku wrote.
Atiku: “Cyberstalking Act now a tool of tyranny”
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The former Vice President condemned the use of the Cyberstalking Act to clamp down on government critics, describing it as a “modern tool of tyranny reminiscent of colonial sedition laws.”
He continued:
“Under the obnoxious Cyberstalking Act, this government has metamorphosed into a leviathan, one that thrives on fear and seeks to silence the very voices that sustain democracy. This is an aberration, an affront to freedom, and it must be roundly rejected.”
Atiku said laws that limit free expression are undemocratic and unconstitutional, urging Nigerians to defend their right to speak without fear.
Atiku accuses Tinubu government of weaponising state institutions
Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of using state institutions to suppress opposition and disobey court orders, saying such actions weaken democracy and the rule of law.
“In the two and a half years since the Tinubu administration began unleashing its cocktail of economic hardship, hunger, and despair on the Nigerian people, we have witnessed protests and outcries. Yet, rather than listen, the government has chosen the path of brute force and intimidation, treating dissent as treason,” he said.
He added that the government’s alleged disregard for court orders and human rights violations “have become its most infamous credentials.”
Institutions losing independence
Atiku lamented the growing silence of Nigeria’s democratic institutions, saying parliament and oversight agencies now serve power instead of checking it.
“Even institutions that should act as checks on executive excesses, legislatures, oversight agencies, and the judiciary, have become mere rubber stamps, their leaders tripping over themselves to sing the praises of a president few dare to question,” he said.
He warned that this culture of silence and submission was eroding public trust and weakening Nigeria’s democratic foundations.
Atiku says 2027 election will be a defining moment
Describing the upcoming 2027 general election as a “contest between the Tinubu hegemony and the will of the people,” Atiku urged Nigerians and civil society groups to resist intimidation and reclaim their democratic rights.
“As a democrat and stakeholder in the opposition, I am convinced that the 2027 election will be a defining moment, a contest not merely between parties, but between the Tinubu hegemony and the will of the Nigerian people,” he declared.