AMNESTY International has called for the immediate withdrawal of a warrant of arrest issued against Hamdiyya Sidi Sharif, accused of using abusive language against Sokoto State Governor Ahmad Aliyu.
The human rights watchdog described the warrant as unjust and a threat to a fair hearing.
In a statement on Friday, July 11, the organisation expressed concerns over the warrant issued by Wurno Magistrate Court on Thursday, July 10, after Hamdiyya failed to appear at a court hearing the previous day.
Amnesty International said her absence was due to medical treatment she was undergoing following an abduction that left her with serious injuries.
It stressed that the warrant was “contrary to all tenets of fair hearing and justice,” and urged the court to halt its enforcement until a motion for trial in absentia, filed by her legal team on June 19, is heard.
Backstory
The young lady, Hamdiyya, is currently facing trial for using “insulting or abusive language” and “inciting disturbance” after criticising Governor Aliyu.
In November 2024, the 18-year-old had published a video criticising the Sokoto State governor over insecurity and the plight of displaced persons in the state.
She also called on internally displaced people to occupy the governor’s office in protest.
She has been abducted twice since her trial began.
The first incident occurred on November 13, 2024, shortly after the video went viral, when armed men reportedly whisked her away when she went to retrieve her phone from a charging point. Premium Times reported that she was beaten and thrown from a moving tricycle, leaving her with severe injuries.
Also on May 20, 2025, her family and lawyers reported her missing after she left home for the market. She was later found abandoned in a bush in Zamfara State, visibly, according to Amnesty International.
Despite these ordeals, the organisation said that the state had continued to pursue charges against her instead of investigating the attacks or addressing the broader insecurity crisis in parts of the state, where gunmen are reportedly killing civilians, razing villages, and abducting women and girls.
“Instead of trying to suppress dissenting voices through the abuse of power, Sokoto State government and the Nigerian security agencies should prioritise urgently addressing rampant insecurity facing the people of the eastern part of Sokoto State, where gunmen have been killing people, razing villages, abducting women and girls – almost daily,” Amnesty Intenational added.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M