MINNA, Nigeria — The Niger State Police Command has arrested Abubakar Mokwa, a postgraduate student at the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), for allegedly posting comments critical of Governor Umaru Bago on social media.
Mokwa, 29, who is studying Agricultural Economics and Extension, was reportedly picked up by police officers at his off-campus residence in Lapai on Thursday, October 23, 2025.
The student had earlier criticised the governor’s performance in a Facebook post, a move that appears to have prompted a complaint to the police.
Confirming the arrest, the spokesperson for the Niger State Police Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said Mokwa was taken into custody following a formal complaint alleging cyber offences.
“The Niger State Police Command received a criminal complaint bordering on cyber bullying, cyber stalking and other cybercrime-related offences against one Abubakar Isah Mokwa, 29 years, of Mokwa, and a postgraduate student of IBBUL,” Abiodun said.
He added that Mokwa was arrested by officers from the Lapai Division around 11 p.m. on Thursday, October 23, 2025, and later transferred to the State Police Headquarters in Minna for further investigation.
“The suspect is in custody, and further development will be made public,” Abiodun said.
Mokwa’s arrest has drawn attention to what media and civil society groups describe as a growing pattern of repression of free expression in Niger State under Governor Bago’s administration.
In August, the state government suspended Badegi 90.1 FM, an independent radio station in Minna, over alleged criticism of the governor.
Earlier this year, the International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria raised concerns over what it called “troubling incidents that point to a growing pattern of repression against the press” in the state.
“In January 2025, Yakubu Mustapha, the Niger State correspondent for Peoples Daily and Chairman of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), was detained for three days after allegedly circulating an article critical of the governor’s media adviser,” IPI said in a statement.
It also cited a November 2023 incident in which Mustapha Batsari, the Niger State correspondent of the Voice of America (VOA), was allegedly assaulted by a commissioner after requesting an interview about a violent clash between farmers in Bosso Local Government Area.
The latest arrest has fuelled debate over the use of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act, which critics say is increasingly being invoked to silence dissent and target journalists, activists, and citizens who criticise public officials online.
As of Friday, October 24, 2025, Mokwa remained in police custody, while the Niger State government had not issued a formal response to the arrest.
