General

Publisher of PRNigeria Petitions Police IG Over Harassment of Family

Published

9 years ago

12/09/2017

By Dipo Olowookere

The Publisher of PRNigeria, a press release platform for critical institutions, Mr Yushau Shuaib, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mr Ibrahim Idris, over harassment and intimidation of his family members living in Abuja.

Mr Shuaib is particularly not happy with the Gestapo style his family members were subjected to by a team of police officers from Lagos led by one Inspector Babatunde (08056506863, 08081700099).

In a 30-paragraph letter addressed to the IGP dated September 11, 2017, the petitioner noted that the team from Lagos had claimed that Governor Ambode of Lagos State was aware of an alleged massive fraud committed in Lagos involving his son, Mr Gidado Shuaib.

It was said that the police team, who claimed to have arrived from office of the Lagos State Governor, had initially informed the wife of the petitioner by telephone that they were from an MTN team to deliver a seasonal gift to her, which raised suspicions from the wife before her eventual alarm, suspecting them to be a kidnap gang before nearby residents came to her rescue.

The petitioner also resisted the attempt to be taken to Lagos for questioning by the team stressing that he was not the suspect, a move also supported by the Divisional Police Officer of Wuye Police station, CSP Solome Hardy (Mrs) who categorically told them she would never allow them to take him to Lagos because he was not the suspect of their investigation.

The petitioner, Mr Yushau Shuaib, in the petition to the IGP is demanding the reason and justification for the harassment of himself and especially his wife who has been traumatized since then and undergoing medication and counselling.

Mr Shuaib wrote: “The ridiculous treatment of me and my wife with the detention in Wuye Police Station before our eventual release is not only appalling and scandalous but a calculated attempt to rubbish our hard-earned reputation, having used the last five years protecting and promoting the activities of security agencies in Nigeria.

“In fact, through PRNigeria Platform alone, we have syndicated and published over 300 official Press Releases from the Police in the last two years of the current administration as part of our social responsibility to our fatherland.

“While we have been threatened by terrorists and their sympathisers in the cause of our services, it is rather unfortunate that the police are now our tormentors.

“My fear, currently is not about me, my family or my son who will surely confront the Police with his lawyers over the reckless allegation on his return. My fear is: what may be happening to other ordinary Nigerians who do not have people in police or security agencies to put words on their behalf.

“Only God knows how many lives could have been lost with the kind of recklessness exhibited by the Lagos Police Team that engages in the Gestapo-like operation of picking up people without providing the information on their alleged offences.”

The petitioner, therefore, urged the police boss to provide clear information of the alleged offences purportedly committed by his son; to direct one Inspector Babatunde (08056506863, 08081700099) to stop threatening them with phone calls insisting they must be in Lagos in the absence of their son.

He also urged the police to tender unreserved apology for treating his family like a common criminal without adequate proof of the allegations.

Mr Shuaib further disclosed that his ordeal contravenes a clear provision of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 which prohibits the arrest of another person in place of a suspect.

He also pointed out that with the unprofessional and questionable manner of the Lagos police team, the police boss should transfer the case to any of his special investigation units in the Force Headquarters or to the FCT Police Command.

Mr Shuaib said that with his strict monitoring and parental guidance over his children, he should also be held liable if his son is found guilty of the alleged offence.

“I am not only a guardian but a Father in every sense of the word,” he concluded.

Please read the full petition below….

September 11, 2017

Inspector General of Police

Nigeria Police Headquarters

Abuja

Sir,

LAGOS POLICE’S HARASSMENT AND INTIMIDATION OF FAMILY OF YUSHAU SHUAIB IN ABUJA

I write to report the harassment and intimidation of my family by a Police Team from Lagos who claimed to be from the Governor’s Office, Alausa Ikeja.

On August 21, 2017, my wife received a phone call purported to be from an MTN Team coming to deliver a seasonal gift to her. Suspicious of such gifts at a period of insecurity, their calls were ignored. With persistent calls, she told them she was going towards Wuye Market with her sister where they were accosted by four hefty men and a woman claiming to be from the Police.
When they attempted to bundle her into their white saloon car, she resisted by raising her voice, shouting for help. She learnt the trick of ‘shouting’ to evade abductions by suspected kidnappers who use names of security agencies to whisk away innocent victims.
Realising the implication of her “shout” that could attract a mob action, they accepted her request to trek together to a nearby Wuye Divisional Police Station for fear of abduction.
When I was alerted to the incident, I rushed to the police station on a pyjamas and bathroom slippers only to be detained by the policemen who now seized our telephones and were dialling different telephone numbers from them.
When I insisted on what offences we committed for our detention and search on our phones, they claimed that Governor Ambode of Lagos was aware of an alleged massive fraud committed in Lagos involving my son, Gidado Shuaib.
Though shocked and traumatised by the experience and the so-called massive fraud in Lagos, I can conveniently without an iota of doubt, vouch and defend the integrity of all my children, who were not only trained to be of good character but were groomed to imbibe value of simplicity, humility, hard-work and sacrifice.
Gidado had travelled the previous day as member of media team for the coverage of Hajj Pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
The police team insisted we should write official statements about our son and some of his friends who are mostly university students. They further insisted that my wife could be granted a bail, while I must follow them to Lagos that day in my pyjamas.
Intervention from well-meaning senior security officers, whom I have worked with over the years by virtue of my professional callings, saved me from being taken to Lagos that morning. The DPO of Wuye Police Station, CSP Solome Hardy (Mrs) was very categorical when she told them point-blank that she would never allow them to take me to Lagos because I was not the suspect of their investigation.
The police team reluctantly accepted DPO’s position, especially on health ground and that I should bring my son to Lagos upon his return from the foreign trip.
Gidado, my first son and his siblings are not only well-brought up, they are exceptionally humble, simple and very obedient that they hardly go out to seek for favours.
On the police allegation of fraud in Lagos, Gidado has never spent a night in Lagos in the last five years. In fact, he was only in Lagos on a transit to connect with a foreign airline on a trip to New York to attend the annual United Nations Youths Assembly where he was invited as a delegate in 2015. He didn’t even return through Lagos but through Abuja Airport. He has therefore never spent a single night in Lagos in the last five years.
Since September 2016 to May 2017, Gidado had been in the United Kingdom pursuing a Master Degree Programme on Communication at the University of Westminster. He started the programme immediately after his graduation from the Baze University Abuja.
Apart from the fact that I opened bank accounts for my children, I closely monitor their transactions which give me ideas on their spending.
I deliberately arranged for Gidado to be staying with a very humble guardian in London who guarded and guided him throughout his stay. Most of his expenses were routed through the same guardian.
As a father, I subjected him to live an austere life in London so that he could imbibe the spirit of endurance, piety and independence rather than develop an ostentatious lifestyle.
As the Publisher of PRNigeria, Economic Confidential and other media outlets, I ensure Gidado earns extra allowances by writing, proofreading, editing and publishing.
While at the Baze University Abuja, Gidado introduced a magazine, YouthsDigest which focuses on students, education and youths engagements. He doesn’t engage in any other business apart from that.
In recognition of his entrepreneurship skills, Gidado was recently voted and honoured by SME100 as one of the 25 Young Nigerians under the age of 25 who have inspired others to greatness.
It is painful, however, that I have to write this letter over supposedly unproven allegations against an innocent young Nigerian for an offence in an environment he was not used to.
It is also shocking that in this age of technological advancement with affordable tools for intelligence gathering, the police in Lagos have to waste human and material resources to identify and locate a young man that can be simply and easily identified and traced through the common ID Caller App and the social media Platforms. This is terribly embarrassing.
The ridiculous treatment of me and my wife with the detention in Wuye Police Station, before our eventual release, is not only appalling and scandalous but a calculated attempt to rubbish our hard-earned reputation, having used the last five years protecting and promoting the activities of security agencies in Nigeria.
In fact, through PRNigeria Platform alone, we have syndicated and published over 300 official Press Releases from the Police in the last two years of the current administration as part of our social responsibility to our fatherland.
While we have been threatened by terrorists and their sympathisers in the cause of our services, it is rather unfortunate that the police are now our tormentors.
My fear, currently is not about me, my family or my son who will surely confront the Police with his lawyers over the reckless allegation on his return. My fear is: what may be happening to other ordinary Nigerians who do not have people in police or security agencies to put words on their behalf.
Only God knows how many lives could have been lost with the kind of recklessness exhibited by the Lagos Police Team that engages in Gestapo-like operation of picking up people without providing the information on their alleged offences.
I am writing this letter to request the Office of the Inspector General of Police over the unnecessary harassment and unjust intimidation from Police Team from Lagos. PRNigeria Petition to Police
I wish to therefore, request your office to: a. Demand the reason and justification for the harassment of myself and especially my wife who has been traumatised since then and undergoing medication and counselling b. Provide clear information of the alleged offences purported committed by my son c. Direct one Inspector Babatunde (08056506863, 08081700099) to stop threatening me with phone calls insisting I must be in Lagos in the absence of my son d. Tender unreserved apology for treating my family like a common criminal without adequate proof of the allegations. e. Note that my ordeal contravenes a clear provision of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 which prohibits the arrest of another person in place of a suspect. f. Note that with the unprofessional and questionable manner of the Lagos Police Team, I wish you would transfer the case to any of your Special Investigation Units or to the FCT Police Command g. With my strict monitoring and parental guidance over my children, I should also be held liable if my son is found guilty of the alleged offence. I am not only a guardian but a Father in every sense of the word.
I, therefore, submit this for your prompt intervention, as the Gestapo-police team insists on my presence in Lagos this week which I will not honour in the absence of my son who is yet to return from Hajj.

Yushau A. Shuaib

Publisher PRNigeria, Economic Confidential

Copy:

Governor Ambode of Lagos State

Commissioner of Police Lagos State

Commissioner of Police Federal Capital Territory

Force Police Public Relations Officer

Divisional Police Officer, Wuye District

Executive Secretary Centre for Crisis Communication

Chief Press Secretary to Governor of Lagos State

General

Atiku Accuses Tinubu of Plot to Turn Nigeria into One-Party State

Published

23 hours ago

28/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Former Vice President and the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr Atiku Abubakar, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu is determined to turn Nigeria into a de facto one-party state, condemning attempts to frustrate the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

Mr Atiku’s reaction followed a ruling by the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, which set aside its December 10, 2025, judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party.

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, ruled that the Peace Movement Party (PMP) should have been joined in the suit because its interests were affected by the case.

Responding to the judgment in a statement issued by the Atiku Media Office, the former Vice President said he was not surprised by what he described as a disturbing development, warning that it could have grave consequences if what he called a plot to weaken opposition parties in favour of Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid succeeds.

According to Mr Atiku, the participation of citizens in free, fair and credible elections is the foundation of democracy, and any attempt to deny Nigerians that freedom of choice could trigger “chaos and anarchy.”

“Nigerians are now seeing the true colours of President Tinubu, who pretends to be a democrat, but his body language and the sinister activities of his agents contradict his mouthed commitment to free and fair elections,” he said.

He urged President Tinubu to emulate the late President Muhammadu Buhari, noting that despite being a retired military officer turned politician, he never deregistered any opposition party. He also cited former President Goodluck Jonathan, whom he said upheld the principle that political ambition should never be worth the blood of any citizen.

“If you’re truly popular and your policies have positively bettered the lives of the citizens, you shouldn’t be afraid of a free and fair competition,” he explained.

“Tinubu cannot be a champion of democracy under military dictatorship and now become the worst enemy of everything that democracy stands for.”

“You can’t attempt to rule the people against their will and still pretend that you’re committed to free and fair elections in 2027,” Mr Atiku stated.

The former Vice President also urged members of the judiciary to resist political interference, warning judges against allowing themselves to be used by politicians seeking to undermine Nigeria’s democracy.

“Governments will come and go. Hence, the judiciary must guard its integrity as the last hope of the masses. Don’t allow unscrupulous politicians to stain your reputation for their own short-term gain at the expense of justice. The judiciary is the last hope of the people. Let’s avoid anything that is capable of ruining the credibility and reputation of our courts, not for a messy pot of pottage or love of lucre.

“There are great judges in Nigeria, but the unchecked excesses of some who allow themselves to become judicial swords in the hands of politicians are capable of damaging the larger image of the judiciary,” he added.

General

Lagos to Probe Alakija Building Collapse, Prosecute Culprits

Published

3 days ago

26/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Lagos State Government has said it will investigate the collapse of a three-storey building in the Alakija area of the state and prosecute anyone found culpable, while warning residents against ignoring evacuation notices issued on distressed structures.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, gave the warning on Friday while commiserating with the families of the victims, describing the incident as unfortunate.

“Our first duty is to commiserate with the families who lost their loved ones in this unfortunate incident. On behalf of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, we sympathise with them and pray that such a tragedy never occurs again,” he said.

Latest update from the state government put the casualty figures at 27 rescued and nine fatalities, including a baby.

He disclosed that 27 persons were rescued alive from the rubble, while nine others lost their lives despite overnight rescue efforts.

“By the grace of God, we have been able to rescue 27 people. Unfortunately, we lost nine persons and this is very sad. We share the pain of the affected families,” he said.

According to the commissioner, the collapsed building had earlier been identified as distressed and marked for evacuation, but some occupants allegedly returned after initially leaving.

“As you can see, these buildings had been marked as distressed and people were asked to leave. Unfortunately, some residents returned after pretending to have moved out, leading to this tragic outcome,” Mr Omotoso said.

He added that other distressed buildings in the area would be demolished to prevent similar incidents.

“All the buildings that have been identified as defective will go down. We cannot wait until another tragedy occurs before taking action. The protection of lives remains our priority,” he said.

Mr Omotoso also condemned the construction and occupation of buildings beneath high-tension power lines, describing the practice as unsafe and unacceptable.

“It is not done in any civilised society. Such developments show disregard for safety regulations and contempt for the law. Government will continue to clamp down on such violations,” he said.

He assured residents that a full investigation into the collapse had commenced, stressing that anyone found responsible would face prosecution.

“The owners of the building are under investigation. Anybody found complicit in this tragedy will face the law. They will be prosecuted because no one is above the law,” he said.

The commissioner said most of the rescued victims sustained no life-threatening injuries, while those requiring further medical attention had been taken to the hospital.

He also praised the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the police, the military, neighbourhood safety personnel and other emergency responders for their swift response.

“I must commend all our emergency responders who worked tirelessly throughout the night to save lives and bring the situation under control,” he said.

Mr Omotoso urged residents to prioritise safety over economic considerations.

“The most important lesson from this incident is that nobody should prioritise livelihood over life. Once life is lost, everything is lost. No business is worth risking human lives for,” he added.

General

Deregistration: Peter Obi’s NDC to Challenge High Court Judgment

Published

3 days ago

26/06/2026

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), founded by Mr Seriake Dickson, has reacted to reports claiming that a Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, has ordered its deregistration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over an alleged logo infringement.

In a statement on Friday, the political party, which presented Mr Peter Obi as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections, said it had instructed its lawyers to challenge the judgment said to have been delivered by Justice Isah Dashen.

“Our attention has been drawn to a ruling by the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja this morning, wherein His Lordship, Honourable Justice Isah Dashen, gave a ruling on an application filed by an unregistered association known as Peace Movement Party.

“The public knows that by December 2025, the Nigeria Democratic Congress, as an association, complained of INEC’s refusal to register us as a political party, whereupon we proceeded to the Federal High Court. The Federal High Court upheld our constitutional right to freedom of association under the Constitution and compelled INEC to register us, which INEC did.

“Since then, we have started political activities, embarked on the registration of members, held congresses from ward to national levels, held conventions, and concluded primaries to all offices following INEC’s timetable. We have been fully participating in all INEC activities without let or hindrance.

“NDC also fielded candidates, and fully participated in the just-concluded bye elections in Nasarawa and Enugu states.

“Candidates for the House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate, Governorship, Presidential, and Vice-Presidential positions have been duly nominated, and we are in the process of formally submitting them to INEC in accordance with INEC’s timetable.

“The association that filed the complaint is unknown to us. The Peace Movement Party (PMP) is not a registered political party in Nigeria. They claimed, in a motion (not even a substantive suit or appeal), that the court should set aside its earlier judgment on the purported ground that, in 2015, they had sought registration as a political party with the victory sign as their symbol and were denied.

“It is important to note that they are not an association applying for registration now under the exercise that started last year. They are also not a registered political party in Nigeria participating in the political process now, as we are.

“Furthermore, the court, having delivered a final judgment in our suit against INEC, had become functus officio. The court had also dealt with all related issues concerning associations claiming they wanted to use the same symbol and colours. The court, in its judgment, overruled INEC when those issues were raised, and there is no appeal against that judgment.

“Therefore, we are surprised that, on an application by an association claiming that it wanted to register as a political party with the victory sign in 2015—an association that is not a registered political party and is not seeking registration now to participate in the current political process—His Lordship came to the conclusion that they have locus standi, and furthermore, that he has jurisdiction to do what he did.

“Accordingly, we have been informed that His Lordship made an order setting aside the court’s earlier decision of December 2025.

“There was no order directing our deregistration. However, we are dissatisfied with the decision that has been made, and we have instructed our team of lawyers to immediately proceed to the Court of Appeal to challenge the jurisdiction and propriety of His Lordship’s order.

“We assure the general public, and particularly our candidates at all levels, that our party is on course. The NDC has not been deregistered, and we are challenging today’s order at the Court of Appeal as soon as possible. We have no doubt that justice will be done.

“We condemn efforts by those who seek to shrink the democratic space and stifle opposition voices and alternatives. Nigerians have a right to a full range of opinions, ideas, and alternatives, and political platforms and candidates should be allowed to participate in the 2027 general election process, which has already gone midway,” the statement read.