A Rejoinder to Senator Garba Musa Maidoki’s Press Briefing
By
Ibrahim Abubakar Jombali
Special Adviser on Public Enlightenment and Orientation
We are in a democracy and it is normal that In every democracy, there comes a point when political rhetoric collides with an inconvenient question: where is the evidence?
That question sits at the heart of Senator Garba Musa Maidoki’s recent uncoordinated press briefing, in which the African Democratic Congress (ADC) alleged a pattern of politically motivated arrests, detentions and prosecutions in Kebbi State. The accusations were grave. Yet the supporting evidence was conspicuously and intentionally absent. How do you create something out of nothng ?
This matters because allegations of political persecution are among the most common , yet, serious accusations that can be levelled against a sitting government. As usual, such claims strike at the credibility of law enforcement agencies, challenge the legitimacy of judicial proceedings and seek to persuade the public that the machinery of the state has been weaponised against political opponents.Claims of that magnitude demand proof of equal magnitude. Such is the beauty of democracy.
Instead, what the public was offered by the porous press conference was assertion without demonstration; accusation without substantiation; suspicion presented as though it were already an established fact. It was too desperate to make any sense.
The distinction is not academic. It goes to the very foundation of the rule of law, which also formed the basis of the matters raised.
If it is true that political persecution has occurred, then those responsible must be exposed and held accountable. But if such persecution is being alleged, then the burden falls on the accusers to produce evidence—not merely indignation. We need genuine answers to the following necessary questions:
Who was arrested solely because of political affiliation?
Who ordered the arrest?
Which government official issued the directive?
What evidence connects the arrest to partisan activity rather than an alleged criminal offence?
Where are the documents, the directives, the witness accounts or the records establishing political interference?
Until those questions are answered, the public is being asked to deliver a verdict before seeing the case. Again, the result of desperation!
That is not justice. It is politics masquerading as evidence.
THE DANGEROUS EXPANSION OF POLITICAL IMMUNITY
A troubling trend has emerged in parts of Nigeria’s political culture: the growing assumption that opposition status itself should confer a form of immunity from scrutiny.
Under this logic, an arrest becomes persecution if the suspect belongs to an opposition party. A criminal investigation is turned upside down to become victimisation if the individual under investigation is politically active. A court order is maliciously presented as evidence of conspiracy if it affects a political actor who abused the law. Such reasoning is not only flawed; it is profoundly dangerous.
Let us remind the Senator that the law does not recognise APC crimes, ADC crimes, PDP crimes or Labour Party crimes. The Law sees Nigerians. It recognises only alleged offences and the evidence supporting them.
The message of the Nigerian Law is simple and straightforward..The principle is simple. If an APC member is accused of wrongdoing, the law should investigate. If an ADC member is accused of wrongdoing, the law should investigate. If a government official is accused of wrongdoing, the law should investigate.
Political affiliation is not a legal defence.
Nor should it become one. The moment political parties begin to treat investigation itself as evidence of persecution, they create a culture in which accountability becomes impossible and every criminal allegation is instantly recast as a partisan dispute.
Democracy does not survive on that faulty basis. It thrives on justice, equity and fairness.
COURTS DO NOT TAKE INSTRUCTIONS FROM POLITICAL PARTIES
Should we again remind Maidoki about the sanctity of the court? Perhaps the most striking feature of Senator Maidoki’s intervention was the implicit suggestion that judicial decisions involving ADC members should be viewed through a political lens. Should this happen out of ignorance or out of a desperate desire to save a wobbling ADC?
That proposition should concern everyone. Judges and courts are not extensions of political parties. They are not arbiters of partisan grievances. Their constitutional duty is to evaluate evidence, apply the law and reach conclusions based on the facts before them.
The judiciary does not require political guidance from opposition politicians any more than it requires guidance from ruling parties.
Where a court order is believed to be flawed, the remedy is well established: challenge it. Appeal it. Seek a review. Present contrary evidence.That is how constitutional democracies function. What they do not permit is the replacement of legal argument with political pressure.
The question is not which politician speaks most passionately at a press conference. The question is what evidence was presented before the court and what conclusions the court reached. Everything else is theatre.
THE WEEKEND DETENTION NARRATIVE
The claim that certain individuals were intentionally arrested or arraigned in a manner designed to keep them in custody over a weekend is a serious allegation. It is also laughable coming from a distinguished Senator of the federal republic. Of course, It is also one that demands specifics.
Which individuals?
Which warrants?
Which police commands?
Which courts?
Which offences?
Was bail sought?
Was bail granted?
Was bail refused?
Were appeals filed?
Without answers to these questions, the allegation remains precisely that—an allegation.
Court records exist. Warrants exist. Proceedings are documented. Facts are verifiable.
A political press conference cannot replace documentary evidence just the same way that outrage can not be substitute for proof.
THE BURDEN OF EVIDENCE APPLIES TO EVERYONE
Senator Maidoki has indicated his intention to petition the Police Service Commission, the Inspector-General of Police and international human rights bodies. No doubt, he is entitled to do so. Indeed, any citizen who believes injustice has occurred should pursue every lawful avenue available.But interestingly, that process cuts both ways.
If investigations reveal misconduct by police officers, those officers should answer for it. If investigations reveal unlawful political interference, those responsible should face the consequences. But if investigations establish that arrests arose from legitimate criminal complaints rather than political affiliation, that conclusion must be accepted with equal honesty. Dear senator, Justice is not a menu from which political actors select only the outcomes they prefer. Everyone who cooks his food will have to eat it.
FACTS BEFORE NARRATIVES
The broader political context cannot be ignored. Senator Maidoki’s departure from the APC and subsequent alignment with the ADC followed disagreements surrounding internal party politics and nomination processes. That history may explain the intensity of present political disagreements. It does not, however, constitute evidence of political persecution.
Please someone should kindly inform Maidoki to note that political grievances are not proofs. No, they are not !
Defection is not proof.
Suspicion is not proof.
Only evidence is proof.
And until evidence is presented, allegations remain allegations.
THE TEST OF OUR DEMOCRACY
The real test before Kebbi State is not whether politicians can hold press conferences. Any democracy permits that.
The test is whether institutions are allowed to function without being overwhelmed by partisan narratives.
Let the police investigate.
Let prosecutors present their evidence.
Let defendants challenge that evidence.
Let courts rule
Let oversight bodies investigate complaints against law enforcement agencies.
And let the facts—not political affiliations—determine the outcome.
A mature democracy cannot afford a situation where every investigation is labelled persecution and every prosecution is interpreted as political warfare. That path leads not to justice, but to impunity. The standard must remain constant regardless of party, office or influence:
Evidence before accusation. Due process before judgment. Facts before politics.
Anything less weakens the very institutions upon which democracy depends.
LOOKING BACK AT HISTORY.
History has a way of reminding people about the things they did, what they did, how they did, and where they did.
The opposition leaders in ADC Kebbi may have forgotten the ignominous paths they followed in the past. These are people whose actions kicked our laws in the ass. They bruised the law, gave it a red nose and almost shattered the sanctity of our courts and the honour and integrity of our judicial officers.
ABUBAKAR MALAMI AND NIGERIAN JUSTICES.
As minister of justice, Malami suppretended over and supervised the most sacriligeous abuse of Nigerian Judges. Under him, homes of justices, including those of the supreme court were ransacked and the occupants disgraced. In the middle of the night, judges of other courts had their houses raided without reason , and in the end, without evidence. How many judicial officers were falsely accused and wrongly harrassed under Malami’s rule as AGF and Justice Minister ? How many Nigerians were arrrested and detained without evidence ?
MAIDOKI AND THE ZURU YOUTH
History is asking questions:
Has Madoki forgotten how he ordered the unlawful arrest of a young man, Meli who was illegally detained at the Zuru police station over a facebook post in which he questioned the senator over his poor representation and asking him to do better ? No insults, no abuse. Just a wake up call. It took some protest by the youths of Zuru to force the senator to release the innocent young man.
Today, these same people who abused the law and embarrassed the judges are now calling on them to use the laws in their favour. We refuse to legalise any illegality, but we are only reminding the puritans of their past dangerous misdeeds.