Former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticized the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for fostering repression and eroding free speech. In an opinion piece, he described the government as turning Nigeria into a police state through the misuse of laws like the Cyberstalking Act. Atiku urged citizens to resist this trend ahead of the 2027 elections.
On October 27, 2025, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President of Nigeria, published an opinion piece titled “A Nation Gripped in the Throes of Fear,” raising alarms about the rising wave of repression and intimidation under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration.
Atiku accused the government of weaponizing state institutions to suppress opposition and disobeying court orders, which he said undermines democracy and the rule of law. He highlighted the use of the Cyberstalking Act to target critics, calling it “a modern tool of tyranny reminiscent of colonial sedition laws.” In the piece, he warned that “no government, no matter how powerful, is greater than the people.”
The former vice president pointed to a pattern of harassing citizens, journalists, and activists for expressing dissent, noting that human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, and Media Rights Agenda, have criticized the administration's human rights record. He lamented the silence of institutions like parliament and oversight agencies, which he said now prioritize praising power over questioning it.
Atiku referenced the economic hardships over the past two and a half years, which sparked protests met with brute force and arrests, including during the #EndBadGovernance demonstrations. He described instances of journalists jailed for speaking out and citizens re-arrested despite bail grants as evidence of a disregard for the rule of law.
Looking ahead, Atiku framed the 2027 general election as “a defining moment between the Tinubu hegemony and the will of the people,” calling on Nigerians and civil society to resist the creeping culture of fear and reclaim democratic rights. He stated, “There is a disturbing yet growing pattern by which the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu continues to muzzle free speech and, in so doing, erode the integrity of the democratic ethos that define our nation.”