Personnel of the Taraba State police command acting on the orders of Hajia Fatima Lau, wife of the Senator representing Taraba North senatorial district, Shuaibu Isa Lau, arrested and detained a skit maker, Nafiu Hassan, for several days, The Bureau Newspaper has gathered.
Lau is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Deputy Senate Minority Leader.
Hassan had done a skit where he decried the deplorable condition of roads in the senatorial district. He said that many of the roads are now killing zones due to their bad state.
However, sources said the Senator’s wife last Wednesday saw Hassan while passing by her street and called the police from GRA Division in Jalingo to arrest and detain him.
She was said to have created a scene publicly while accusing the skit maker of “cyberstalking and criminal character assassination.”
It was learnt that Hassan was tortured and released on Sunday.
The source said, “Nafiu Hassan made a video about a month ago about bad roads and dilapidated health facilities in Taraba North. However, this video led to his arrest last Wednesday and he was detained till Sunday,” a source told The Bureau Newspaper.
“He was arrested by the police on the orders of the Senator’s wife. Nafiu was passing through the Senator’s street while the wife, Hajia Lau, was about to enter her residence in Old Commissioner Quarters in Jalingo.
“So, she saw him and created a scene knowing he was the one that made a video about bad roads and dilapidated healthcare facilities in her husband’s village. She termed that as defamation of character and then ordered policemen attached to her to immediately arrest him.
“These officers in her convoy then started beating him. Then they took him in their Hilux to GRA Division Jalingo and his bail was denied. He was however released on Sunday. He was accused of character defamation and criminal conspiracies, which are all null and void.”
Another source said it was not the first time the Senator’s wife would order security operatives to detain Nigerians.
He said, “This is the fifth time this woman is maltreating people in this state. There was an incident of two boys passing around Mayo-Gwoi. Her convoy was passing by at the time and one of the boys mistakenly touched the car leading her convoy which was moving slowly due to traffic.
“It wasn’t the car she was inside but one of the cars in her convoy; however, out of annoyance, she called the police to arrest the boy and he was detained for three weeks.
“The same woman ordered soldiers to beat about 10 people who went to see her husband at home. She sent them away, claiming there was one person out of them she did not like.
“They were exchanging words with her and then she informed soldiers to assault them. Guess what, they followed all the individuals to their homes and beat them mercilessly. These are the ones I can recall for now but there are more than those two cases. There are many cases linked to this same woman. There are others more deadly than them. But sadly, no one to stand for the victims.”
Efforts made by The Bureau Newspaper to reach Senator Lau failed as he did not answer nor return calls to his mobile phone.
A text message sent to his mobile line had yet to be replied to as at the time of filing this report.
This comes a few days after a viral video showed Alex Ikwechegh, a member of the House of Representatives, assaulting a Bolt driver, Stephen Abuwatseya.
The footage showed the visibly angry lawmaker repeatedly slapping and insulting the driver after Stephen asked him to come outside to collect a package meant for delivery.
The incident, which occurred on October 27 in the Maitama district of Abuja, sparked outrage on social media. Ikwechegh then issued a public apology, acknowledging his actions and expressing regret over his behaviour during the altercation.
In a message posted on Instagram, the lawmaker apologised to the Bolt driver, Nigeria Police Force, and the National Assembly, admitting that his actions did not meet the standards expected of a public official, regardless of the provocation involved.
He was also arraigned at a magistrates’ court in Kuje, Abuja, where he pleaded not guilty to three counts bordering on assault and threat to life.
The defendant was released on N500,000 bail, and the court adjourned the case until November 8, 2024, for further proceedings.
