After Governor Umaru Bago allegedly filed a complaint, the Niger State Police Command detained 29-year-old Abubakar Isah Mokwa, a postgraduate student at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBUL) in Lapai, on suspicion of cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and other cybercrimes.
Mokwa, a well-known social media critic who goes by the online handle “Sen Isah Mokwa,” was arrested at his Lapai home at approximately 11:00 p.m. on Thursday, according to police sources. Many residents and activists are incensed at his arrest, characterizing it as a politically driven attempt to stifle criticism.
Police spokesperson SP Wasiu Abiodun confirmed the arrest in a statement issued on October 24, noting that Mokwa was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Minna for further investigation. “The suspect remains in custody pending further developments,” Abiodun said, adding that updates will be made public in due course.
Sources close to the case, including a family lawyer, claim that the state government ordered the police to file terrorism and cybercrime charges against Mokwa, alleging that his use of the nickname “Governor Amunike”, a satirical reference to ex-footballer Emmanuel Amunike, was part of a campaign to ridicule the governor.
The moniker, widely used by critics to mock unfulfilled political promises, appeared in several of Mokwa’s Facebook posts criticizing Bago’s administration. In one post published six days before his arrest, Mokwa listed grievances such as worsening banditry in Zones B and C, unpaid pensions, poor support for flood victims, unkept scholarship promises, and high tuition fees of ₦360,000 per session at the new state university. He also accused the government of neglecting IBBUL’s infrastructure and abandoning the IBB Teaching Hospital project after relocating it to Minna.
While acknowledging some infrastructure projects, Mokwa criticized their slow pace and incomplete execution.
Hours before his arrest, Mokwa posted an alarming message suggesting he was being trailed by police. “There has been a suspicious move by two Lapai division police officers this evening at my lodge,” he wrote. “If before tomorrow anything happens, Dula knows the policemen who came. Tell the world I only stand for the truth and nothing but the truth.”
Following his detention, #FreeSenIsahMokwa began trending on social media as supporters, family, and human rights groups condemned the arrest as an attack on free speech and an example of growing state intolerance toward opposition voice
Mokwa’s brother, Farouk Mokwa, criticized the police’s actions on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “When individuals that choose not to be swayed by the ineptitudes of the government are being picked and bundled like criminals, what hope is left for the future of opposition?”
A family lawyer confirmed that the offences are bailable, but expressed concern over Mokwa’s continued detention without formal charges.
As of Saturday, October 25, 2025, neither Governor Bago nor Niger State officials have responded to public inquiries about the arrest. Police have maintained that the investigation remains ongoing, while civil society organizations warn that the case represents a dangerous escalation in the suppression of democratic freedoms in Niger State.
