Three Nigerian youths who were traveling from Kano to Sokoto to visit detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu have accused Nigerian Immigration Service officials of arresting, detaining and extorting money from them before abandoning them in Zamfara state.
A source familiar with the incident told SaharaReporters that the travelers were intercepted en route and held for about seven hours.
“On our way to visit Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in Sokoto, we were arrested, detained here for seven hours, extorted and stopped in Zamfara state by the Nigerian Immigration Service,” the source said.
A video obtained by SaharaReporters captured the moment three young people were detained by immigration officials.
In an exclusive interview with SaharaReporters, one of the victims, who identified himself as Cruz Naija, narrated how the incident unfolded on Sunday.
“On Sunday, while I was traveling from Kano to Sokoto to visit Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, I was stopped by immigration officers at the entrance to Zamfara state. After searching the vehicle, they asked me and my colleague (Shadow Dancer) to get down,” he said.
He said the officers accused him of trying to illegally travel to Libya, even though he had said he was heading to Sokoto.
“They accused us of trying to travel to Libya. We categorically denied this charge and explained that we were simply on our way to Sokoto. Nevertheless, they searched our bags and searched our mobile phones thoroughly,” he said.
He added that the situation escalated after police officers allegedly found photos on his mobile phone of him with activist and politician Omoyele Sowore and other activists.
“While searching my phone, they saw photos of me with Omoyele Sowore and other Nigerian activists. From that moment, they concluded that I was an activist. They immediately seized my phone and denied me access,” he said.
The victim claimed that her repeated pleas to contact her family and other parties were ignored by the police.
“I begged people to let me call them to let them know my whereabouts, but they refused. Instead, they repeatedly warned me about how dangerous the area was,” he added.
He further alleged that the officers demanded a large amount of money before allowing him to continue his journey.
“We were taken to a room where we met five other people, two young girls and three men. The officers told us that if we wanted to continue the journey we would have to pay ₦200,000, plus ₦30,000 for transportation to Sokoto,” he said.
He said that after a long argument, the officers reduced the amount demanded to ₦50,000, but they were still unable to pay the traveler.
“They kept threatening us and telling us that the area was dangerous and that bandits could attack us at any time,” he said.
He also claimed that two young female tourists paid 230,000₦30,000 under pressure from police officers.
“I tried to advise them to reconsider…but the officers quickly silenced me and warned me not to speak to them. One officer said that all they cared about was collecting money and that what happened to the girls afterwards was none of their business,” he claimed.
The victims claimed that the police officers then arranged for a truck to transport the girls.
Eventually, as a result of continued pressure, the youths brought in a point of sale (POS) operator and said they transferred ₦30,000 before being allowed to leave.
“Surprisingly, as soon as we left the checkpoint, the driver stopped the car and claimed that he had only given us ₦3,000 instead of ₦30,000. We were stranded with no money and had to start calling people to send us funds to continue our journey,” he said.
In January, SaharaReporters reported that the Federal High Court in Abuja rejected an ex parte application filed by imprisoned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu seeking his transfer from Sokoto Correctional Facility.
Justice James Omotosho dismissed the application after Kanu’s lawyers announced they were withdrawing from the case.
Mr Kanu’s lawyer, Mr Demudu Ahsan, a senior legal officer at the Legal Aid Council, informed the court of his decision to withdraw from the case at the resumed application hearing on Tuesday, citing irreconcilable differences between Mr Kanu and the applicant.
Ms Ahsan told the court that she had been in regular contact with Mr Kanu’s relatives by phone since the last adjournment date and had planned to visit the Legal Aid Council office to have the application rejected.
