Governor Uba Sani, What Would Gani Fawehinmi Say About Comrade Danhabu’s Arrest? —By Muhammed Bello Buhari

Yesterday, the world marked International Human Rights Day, a day meant to honour freedom, dignity, expression, and justice. But here in Kaduna, this date landed with a bitter irony. As nations reflected on liberty, one of our own, Comr Danhabu, is reportedly sitting behind bars, not for violence, not for fraud, not for banditry or terrorism, but for simply speaking. His alleged crime is criticizing the Kaduna State Government via his Facebook page—specifically challenging the alleged continued use of police escorts by VIPs despite the President directives and subsequently, the IGP orders.

Reports indicate that Comrade Danhabu was picked up by the police some days ago and arraigned yesterday before a Magistrate Court, and remanded in prison until next month. His alleged crime is being critical. Being consistent. Being opposition. Using his Facebook page as a citizen. What we are witnessing is not law enforcement but intimidation. Not justice but silencing. Not democracy but fear in uniform.

The painful symbolism of yesterday cannot be ignored. International Human Rights Day exists because the world once agreed that freedom of expression is not a favour governments grant, it is a right citizens own. Yet here in Kaduna, it increasingly feels as though dissent is being treated as a security threat rather than a civic duty.

This is not an isolated incident. This is not new. This is not coincidence. For years now—since the emergence of the Uba Sani-led administration—critics of the Kaduna State Government have been picked up, intimidated, and harassed by the police over social media posts that challenge government actions and policies. Each arrest may be explained away as “lawful procedure,” but when a pattern emerges, explanation expires. When intimidation becomes repetitive, innocence becomes implausible. When arrests keep following criticism, denial becomes unconvincing.

And even if Governor Uba Sani did not personally order this arrest, the machinery of his government is what was used to carry it out. The institutions under his authority are the ones knocking on doors. His administration is the environment in which this culture of silencing has flourished. Leadership is not only about what you command, it’s also about what you tolerate.

It is therefore impossible to separate this moment from the name of the man who presides over Kaduna State. What makes this situation even more painful and more disturbing is the identity of that man.

Governor Uba Sani has never hidden his history as a NADECO activist. He has never missed the chance to remind us that he once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with pro-democracy warriors. Only recently, he published an emotional tribute to Chief Gani Fawehinmi, calling him mentor, hero, and moral compass— celebrating his legacy of courage, law, and resistance. So Governor, do you remember your mentor?

This is a betrayal made acutely painful by the Governor himself. I remember reading his own words in tthis powerful tribute to his mentor, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN—a man who spent his life battling military regimes that jailed critics just like Danhabu.

Governor, you wrote that Gani’s legal advocacy was a “revolution in itself” and that his life was “a testament to courage, unwavering principle, and indefatigable commitment to justice.” You said his home became your sanctuary, where the seeds of your civil rights activism were “fertilized and hence deep-rooted.”

Now, as Governor, what seed are you fertilizing in Kaduna State? The seed of fear? The seed of oppression that Gani spent his entire life pulling out by the root? You spoke of Gani teaching you profound lessons. Let us revisit your own words from that tribute: “He taught me that democracy is not merely the absence of dictatorship but the presence of justice, accountability, and inclusivity.”

Governor, I must ask: Is remanding a voice of the opposition in prison over a Facebook post the “presence of justice”? Is throwing your critics into a prison cell until next month the definition of “inclusivity”?

The Governor, who condemned the “truncation of fundamental freedoms” under military rule, is now watching as his administration is using democratic laws to achieve the same authoritarian goal: the elimination of inconvenient voices. This is a profound insult to the legacy of Chief Gani Fawehinmi, your supposed mentor. It is a cynical reminder that in Nigeria, the revolutionary too often becomes the oppressor once he wears the uniform of power.

The Governor must order the immediate and unconditional review of this politically motivated detention. You cannot champion Gani’s legacy with your mouth while crushing dissent with your hand.

It’s easy to praise Gani Fawehinmi when he is safely in history. It’s harder to tolerate him when his spirit speaks through living critics. Chief Gani Fawehinmi was jailed countless times for demanding justice. If Comrade Danhabu is sitting in prison today for criticism, then Kaduna is not honoring Gani’s legacy, it is reenacting the very cruelty Gani fought all his life.

Human rights do not depend on party affiliation. Freedom does not expire after elections. Democracy does not mean immunity from questions. A government secure in its legitimacy does not fear Facebook posts. A confident leader does not jailbreak opinions. A democracy does not respond to dissent with detention.

If Comr. Danhabu has committed a real crime, then let the evidence be public. Let the charges be transparent. Let justice be open. But if his only offence is words, then every Nigerian should be afraid because when a state begins by arresting voices, it never ends there.

Yesterday was International Human Rights Day. But in Kaduna, it feels like a memorial to lost freedoms. Governor Uba Sani, what would Gani Fawehinmi say about Comrade Danhabu’s arrest?

History is watching. The people are watching. And power never outruns memory.

Muhammed Bello Buhari (MB) is a Legal and Policy Analyst, a Human Rights Advocate, and a Youth Activist who writes from Kaduna.