The Take It Back (TIB) Movement, Kwara State Chapter, has condemned the unlawful detention of a Journalist Buhari Olanrewaju Ahmed, along two activists, including Musa Saidu by the Kwara State Police Command.
According to Hussain Abayomi, TIB organizer in Kwara chapter, the peaceful demonstration held on Monday, July 10 2025, was organized to draw attention to the growing insecurity, cases of kidnapping, and banditry in the state. However, the protest was violently disrupted by political thugs allegedly sent by aides of the Kwara State Governor.
In a detailed account shared by Abayomi, thugs disrupted the protest with force, targeting key activists and journalists present at the scene.
Following the disruption, the Governor’s Special Adviser on Social Investment, Sadiq Buhari, reportedly filed a petition against journalist Buhari Olanrewaju Ahmed (also known as Crown) and activist Musa Saidu Tsaragi, accusing them of defamation.
“Today, the 22nd of July 2025, I, Comrade Gentle (Hussain Abayomi), experienced firsthand oppression in the hands of the Kwara State Governor’s aide, who petitioned a journalist and an activist after sending thugs to disrupt our peaceful demonstration,” Abayomi recounted.
The targeted individuals were invited to the Kwara State Police Headquarters in Ilorin, supposedly for a resolution meeting. However, instead of mediation, they were charged and taken directly to court, despite the fact that the Magistrate Court was not sitting at the time.
“There was no judge available, no court sitting, yet a remand order was issued by the registrar, and both the journalist and activist were sent into custody,” Abayomi added. “This is unacceptable, illegal, and against the fundamental human rights of citizens in a diplomatic system.”
The arrested individuals — Buhari Olanrewaju Ahmed and Comrade Musa Saidu Tsaragi — were remanded at the State CID facility, where they remain in detention pending court resumption.
The TIB has described this action as a deliberate clampdown on voices of dissent, and a politically motivated abuse of power.
Multiple reports, including those from SaharaReporters, confirm that the police acted under political pressure. The platform learned that the remand order was secured directly from the Magistrate Court registrar, bypassing judicial processes.
Eyewitnesses also alleged that the violent thugs, who attacked the protesters, were escorted by mobile police officers reportedly attached to the Government House. The assailants were allegedly led by Kale Alanamu, under the direction of Alhaji Muyideen Aliyu, the Governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Security, and Sadiq Buhari, who was visibly present and allegedly giving instructions from inside a government vehicle.
Phones of protesters were seized and video evidence deleted, including from plainclothes intelligence officers who were monitoring the protest.
Despite these violations, the perpetrators of the attack were reportedly released, while the victims — including TIB members — remain behind bars.
History of Government Intimidation
This is not the first time the Take It Back Movement and other civic voices in Kwara have been targeted. According to a police source quoted by SaharaReporters, the AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq-led administration has a history of using state security forces to suppress critics and activists, often through Inspector Ojo Samuel and Inspector Aluya Ezekiel from the police monitoring unit.
The arrest and detention of the TIB comrades come barely a month after former lawmaker Hon. Mashood Mustapha was charged with defamation for criticizing the government over the demolition of his property without notice.
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