The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested Mahdi Shehu, a prominent whistleblower and rights activist in Kaduna, over a controversial social media post alleging that France was influencing Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu to establish a French military base in the Northwestern region.
Mr. Shehu’s post, which featured an old video falsely suggesting French dominance in Nigeria’s affairs, sparked widespread online debate following President Tinubu’s recent visit to France.
Despite deleting the video, which had gone viral, the DSS detained him over the weekend and is holding him at their Kaduna office.
Peoples Gazette reports indicate that the DSS is preparing to charge Mr Shehu in court by Monday. The arrest was first reported by Solacebase, a Kaduna-based newspaper.
This is not Mr. Shehu’s first encounter with authorities. Earlier this year, he was arrested by the police over extortion allegations brought by former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
Mr. Shehu had denied the claims, alleging persecution due to a story he was working on that implicated the former justice minister.
