{"id":197632,"date":"2026-03-25T20:09:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/atiku-abubakar-raises-alarm-over-unlawful-detention"},"modified":"2026-03-25T21:18:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T20:18:40","slug":"atiku-abubakar-raises-alarm-over-unlawful-detention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/atiku-abubakar-raises-alarm-over-unlawful-detention","title":{"rendered":"Atiku Abubakar Raises Alarm Over Unlawful Detention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for the immediate release or prosecution of Kaduna-based cleric Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria over his continued detention without trial.<\/p>\n

Sheikh Khalifa has reportedly been in custody since December 2025, following allegations linking him to a coup plot, but he has yet to be formally charged in any court.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Atiku Media Office, the former vice president described the cleric\u2019s prolonged detention as a \u201cgrave violation\u201d of his fundamental rights and a threat to Nigeria\u2019s democratic principles.<\/p>\n

Atiku expressed concern that a subsisting order of the Federal High Court directing that the cleric be produced in court had allegedly been ignored by authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere can be no democracy without strict adherence to the rule of law. No security agency is above the Constitution, and none has the power to treat the rights of citizens as privileges to be dispensed with at will,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He further warned that keeping the cleric in custody without access to his family, legal counsel, and adequate medical care amounts to a serious breach of his constitutional rights.<\/p>\n

According to Atiku, normalising such actions by security agencies could undermine the country\u2019s democratic foundations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe continued detention of Sheikh Khalifa without due process poses a significant threat to the rule of law and risks eroding the fundamental rights guaranteed to all citizens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The former vice president also raised concerns over growing public speculation about the cleric\u2019s condition, noting that the silence of authorities has only deepened uncertainty and mistrust.<\/p>\n

\u201cNigeria cannot continue to claim the status of a democracy while the rights of its citizens are routinely and brazenly violated,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Atiku therefore urged the relevant security agencies to either release Sheikh Sani Khalifa immediately or charge him before a competent court without further delay, insisting that anything short of that would amount to unlawful detention and abuse of power.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for the immediate release or prosecution of Kaduna-based cleric Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria over his continued detention without trial. Sheikh Khalifa has reportedly been in custody since December 2025, following allegations linking him to a coup plot, but he has yet to be formally charged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":197631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,16],"tags":[254],"class_list":["post-197632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-parties","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"\nAtiku Abubakar Raises Alarm Over Unlawful Detention - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for the immediate release or prosecution of Kaduna-based cleric Sheikh S ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/atiku-abubakar-raises-alarm-over-unlawful-detention\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Atiku Abubakar Raises Alarm Over Unlawful Detention\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for the immediate release or prosecution of Kaduna-based cleric Sheikh S ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/atiku-abubakar-raises-alarm-over-unlawful-detention\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-25T19:09:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-25T20:18:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/sm_1774469810.734441.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/atiku-abubakar-raises-alarm-over-unlawful-detention#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/atiku-abubakar-raises-alarm-over-unlawful-detention\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Atiku Abubakar Raises Alarm Over Unlawful Detention\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-25T19:09:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-25T20:18:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/atiku-abubakar-raises-alarm-over-unlawful-detention\"},\"wordCount\":342,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/atiku-abubakar-raises-alarm-over-unlawful-detention#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/sm_1774469810.734441.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Parties\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/atiku-abubakar-raises-alarm-over-unlawful-detention#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/atiku-abubakar-raises-alarm-over-unlawful-detention\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/atiku-abubakar-raises-alarm-over-unlawful-detention\",\"name\":\"Atiku Abubakar Raises Alarm Over Unlawful Detention - 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