Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The global human rights organisation Amnesty International has issued a powerful demand to the Nigerian Department of State Services, calling for the immediate release or arraignment of Engineer Tahiru Mohammed Salihu, who has been held incommunicado by the secret police since February 2023. In a statement released on Thursday, July 23, 2026, the rights group condemned what it described as a "secret" three-year detention without trial, accusing the DSS of a "blatant disregard for the rule of law" and leaving the engineer's family in anguish over his fate. The organisation's intervention has cast a harsh spotlight on Nigeria's continued use of prolonged detention without judicial oversight, a practice that has long drawn criticism from domestic and international human rights advocates.
According to Amnesty International, Salihu was arrested during a predawn raid on his residence in the Kubwa area of Abuja at approximately 4:30 a.m. on February 4, 2023. Since that early morning operation, the human rights organisation said, the engineer has remained in DSS custody with no formal charges filed against him. His wife, children and legal representatives have reportedly been denied all access to him, despite repeated appeals to the security agency. "All efforts by both lawyers and family to have access to him were denied, in utter disregard for due process and rule of law," Amnesty International stated, according to multiple reports.
The rights group detailed the family's prolonged ordeal, noting that several appeals by lawyers seeking permission for Salihu's wife and children to visit him, or for him to be charged to court, had received no response from the DSS. This has left his family in a state of painful uncertainty, unable to ascertain his condition or whereabouts. "Holding someone in detention for over three years—regardless of the suspected offence—shows contempt for the rule of law. Such prolonged detention also exposes the suspect to the risk of torture or other ill-treatment," Amnesty International said. The organisation warned that incommunicado detention of this nature creates a dangerous environment where detainees are vulnerable to abuse without any form of external oversight.
Amnesty International has therefore urged the Nigerian authorities to act immediately. The group demanded that Salihu be granted prompt access to his family and legal counsel, and that he be either charged before a court of competent jurisdiction or released without further delay. "The Nigerian authorities must abide by the rule of law at all times, including in the case of Engr. Tahiru Mohammed Salihu," the organisation said. "He must be provided with prompt access to his family and adequate legal representation, charge him to court or release him from detention." The rights group further stressed that government institutions, and particularly security agencies, must at all times operate within the bounds of the law and respect the fundamental rights guaranteed under Nigeria's Constitution and international human rights obligations.
The DSS had not publicly responded to Amnesty International's allegations at the time of filing this report. However, the case of Engr. Tahiru Mohammed Salihu has added to a growing list of high-profile detentions without trial by Nigeria's secret police that have drawn international condemnation. Human rights organisations have repeatedly warned that the persistent use of prolonged incommunicado detention is a violation of due process, and a tactic often employed to silence perceived critics without the inconvenience of a public trial. For Salihu's family, the wait continues, with no clarity on when they might see their loved one again. Amnesty International's demand has now placed the spotlight firmly back on the DSS and the Nigerian government, raising the question of whether the rule of law will finally prevail in the case of a man who has spent more than three years in the shadows of the state.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments