Wife cries out following alleged abduction, torture of Kaduna govt critic

The wife of a government critic and social media commentator in Kaduna State, Nura Usman, popularly known as Kowa Naka, has cried out over the alleged abduction and torture of her husband by people suspected to be agents of the government.

The distraught woman, Amina Ashiru, who petitioned the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, through a legal firm, Thunders Law Firm, gave a detailed account of how the couple was intercepted near Bayero University, Kano, where Usman is currently undergoing a postgraduate program.

The petition which borders on the alleged unlawful arrest, torture, and continued political detention of Usman, stated that he was allegedly blindfolded, beaten, and bundled into the trunk of a vehicle, while his wife was slapped, threatened at gunpoint, and physically assaulted for protesting against bad governance.

In the petition dated May 2, 2025, the law firm alleged that Usman was abducted on the night of April 30 by heavily armed operatives of Operation Fushin Kada, a joint security task force comprising personnel from the Nigerian Army, Navy, DSS, Police, and other agencies.

It further claimed that the arrest of the critic was ordered by powerful officials within the Kaduna State Government, allegedly in retaliation for Facebook posts made by Mr. Usman on April 28 and 29 that criticized certain government policies.

The petition also mentions Adnan Mukhtar Tudun Wada, a close friend of Usman, who was allegedly lured into detention under false pretences involving a fake DHL delivery call.

“We are solicitors to Mrs. Amina Ashiru, the wife of Mr. Nura Usman, popularly known as Kowa Naka, residing at No. AW 54, Mando Road, Sabon Gari, Tudun Wada, Kaduna — a potential politician with a bright future, on whose behalf we write,” the petition reads.

“Our client has informed us as follows: That on the 30th of April, 2025, at around 8:00 PM, she and her husband were peacefully walking out of Bayero University, Kano — where Mr. Usman is enrolled in a master’s/postgraduate program — when heavily armed men identified as members of Operation Fushin Kada surrounded them and whisked Mr. Usman away.

“He was bundled into the trunk of a vehicle, blindfolded, severely beaten, and humiliated.

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“When our client attempted to speak up for her husband, two identified officers — Mr. Ahmad Shu’aibu and Mr. Sunday — slapped, punched, and pushed her to the ground. They pointed guns at her head and threatened to shoot her if she asked any further questions.

“She only learnt the details behindher husband’s arrest and whereabouts after Mr. Adnan Mukhtar Tudun Wada — a closefriend of Mr. Usman — revealed on May 1, 2025, that he had also been detained by Operation Fushin Kada. He had been lured by a fake phone call claiming to be from a DHL delivery agent.

“During his detention, Mr. Tudun Wada encountered the same operatives — Mr. Shu’aibu and Mr. Sunday — who allegedly claimed affiliation with the SIB and confirmed that Mr. Usman was arrested on orders from powerful officials within the Kaduna State Government over his Facebook posts of April 28 and 29.

“All efforts by our client to contact her husband have been unsuccessful. The operatives of Operation Fushin Kada have reportedly vowed to ‘silence’ and ‘vanish’ him from the political space.

“We respectfully urge your office to immediately launch a detailed investigation into the activities of Operation Fushin Kada, with the aim of bringing all those responsible to justice.

“Furthermore, we demand the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Nura Usman and the cessation of all threats and intimidation against him and other citizens in similar situations.”

According to the petition, Usman has remained in detention at an Operation Fushin Kada facility on Constitution Road, Kaduna, with no access to legal counsel or family members, and is urging the NSA to launch an independent investigation into what it calls a “systemic abuse of state power for political repression.”

The petition emphasises that the actions of the task force “violate several constitutional provisions, including the rights to personal liberty, freedom of expression, human dignity, and protection from inhuman and degrading treatment — as enshrined in Sections 34, 35, 38, and 39 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and supported by both African and Universal human rights charters.’

The law firm also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Usman and a halt to all further harassment, warning that failure to act would deepen public mistrust in state institutions and embolden rogue elements within the security apparatus.

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