Kano Lawyer Arrest: Amnesty International Condemns Police Raid On IGP Egbetokun’s Orders
By: Abudu Olalekan
He exposed Kano’s corruption. Now, armed police have dragged him away. Amnesty International cries foul as Nigeria’s civic space shrinks.
Not one. Two. Loaded with police officers. Heavily armed. They didn’t knock proper. Didn’t ask to see a warrant. They just pushed the front door open and flooded in. No explanations. No pleasantries. Just rough voices barking orders at anyone who tried to ask what was going on.
RiminGado ain’t no random lawyer. He used to head Kano’s Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission. The man who spent his last term digging into the previous state administration’s alleged graft. Digging real deep. Asking questions a lot of people didn’t want asked. Following paper trails that led to places powerful folks would rather keep dark.
That Friday, he was hauled out of his office in front of his staff. His colleague, Ridwan Zakariyya, was there to see it all. He told Reportersroom the officers identified themselves as part of the IGP’s Squad from Abuja. No warrant. No stated charge. Just: “You’re coming with us.”
They drove him straight to the Bompai police command headquarters in Kano. Held him there for hours. No one outside knew what was happening. Not his family. Not his lawyers. Till word leaked out late that evening.
By Saturday, Amnesty International had put out a statement on X. They didn’t mince words. This wasn’t just an arrest, they said. It was the latest in a string of harassment and intimidation against RiminGado. All because he dared to investigate corruption claims against the old Kano government.
“A lawyer who looked into widespread graft by the previous Kano state administration is being hounded nonstop by police,” Amnesty wrote. “A truckload of heavily armed officers arrested him yesterday on the IGP’s orders.”
They warned what a lot of Nigerians already fear: moves like this don’t just target one man. They shrink the small space where anyone dares to ask hard questions. They turn security forces into tools for settling political scores.
By late Friday night, RiminGado was released—for now. But the message was loud and clear. Ask too many questions about the wrong people? Rock the boat where powerful folks have stakes? This could happen to you.
Amnesty says it will keep monitoring the case. So will Reportersroom. For anyone who still thinks doing the right thing in Nigeria don’t come with risk: RiminGado’s story is a sharp reminder. It does.
The worst part? No one has yet explained why he was picked up. No charges filed. No warrant presented. Just a show of force. To scare one man. And everyone watching him.
