Prominent Nigerian lawyer and public interest advocate, Abdul Mahmud Aminu, has been remanded in Keffi prison following the revocation of his bail by a senior magistrate in Mararaba, near Abuja.
Mahmud, who voluntarily returned from the United Kingdom to face trial, described the decision as a “judicial ambush” calculated to punish him for asserting his rights against alleged sustained harassment by a serving police officer.
Senior Magistrate Amina Yusuf, presiding in Mararaba, revoked the bail originally granted to Mahmud on June 3, 2023. The bail had been issued on self-recognisance, without any attached conditions, according to Mahmud.
The court’s stated reason for the revocation was an alleged breach of bail conditions, a claim Mahmud vehemently disputes.
In a formal statement released on social media, Mahmud detailed the events leading to his remand.
“This revocation appears to be a judicial ambush, calculated to punish me for asserting my rights in the face of sustained harassment by a serving police officer, DCP Amabua Muhammad,” Mahmud wrote.
He linked the action to a petition written by one of his clients, the Fatima Estate Association, addressed to the former Inspector-General of Police. The petition highlighted ongoing harassment by police officials, which reportedly led to the client being summoned by authorities in October last year.
Mahmud, who has practised at the Bar for 34 years, expressed shock at the development.
“In my 34 years at the Bar, I have never encountered a situation in which a court sought to restrain a defendant from defending himself against persistent official intimidation, effectively tying his hands whilst his adversary operates with impunity,” he stated.
The controversy surrounding Mahmud dates back to 2023 when the Federal Intelligence Bureau (FIB) of the police invited him for questioning following petitions he submitted to multiple anti-corruption agencies.
Mahmud, acting under the Public Interest Lawyers League, had petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Police Service Commission, seeking an investigation into alleged intimidation, abuse of office and suspicious property acquisition linked to police officer Amabua Muhammad, then an Assistant Commissioner of Police and Police Adviser to the Multinational Joint Task Force.
In the petition, Mahmud alleged that the officer illegally acquired twin two-bedroom bungalows valued at N9 million each at Fatima Gold Estate in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, arguing that such assets were inconsistent with the income of a serving police officer.
He further accused the officer of deploying police personnel to arrest him on what he described as false allegations of assault, criminal trespass, burglary and disconnection of electricity following a dispute connected to estate management issues.
The petition also alleged that the dispute stemmed from a civil disagreement between the Fatima Gold Estate Association and the police officer over unpaid estate charges, which Mahmud claimed was converted into a criminal case through the alleged misuse of police authority.
The petition also alleged that the dispute stemmed from a civil disagreement between the Fatima Gold Estate Association and the police officer over unpaid estate charges, which Mahmud claimed was converted into a criminal case through the alleged misuse of police authority.
Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, raised the alarm over the remand, describing the development as another example of alleged abuse of power within the Nigeria Police Force.
“I was informed this morning by Comrade Mahmud Abdul that a magistrate sitting in Mararaba, near Abuja, has ordered that Comrade Mahmud be remanded in Keffi prison,” Sowore wrote on X.
“This decision comes despite the fact that he voluntarily returned from the United Kingdom to attend his trial,” he added.
Sowore said the matter, which began in 2023, had evolved into “one of the most troubling examples of abuse linked to the Nigeria Police Force in recent times.”
Sowore called on the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, to immediately discontinue the case and similar prosecutions allegedly targeting citizens who challenge police conduct.