Widespread condemnation has trailed the continued detention of 18-year-old Hamdiyya Sidi Sharif, a vocal critic of Sokoto State Governor Ahmad Aliyu, who was recently abducted and later found under mysterious circumstances in Zamfara State.
According to the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Hamdiyya remains in police custody in Zamfara despite requiring urgent medical attention following her traumatic ordeal. The Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, revealed during a press briefing in Abuja that Hamdiyya was abducted three days earlier in her village while boarding a commercial tricycle, locally known as Keke Napep.
“She was drugged, dumped in a bush in Bakura Local Government Area of Zamfara, and later rescued by a good Samaritan who took her to the hospital. After receiving medical treatment, she was transferred to a police station,” Rafsanjani explained. “Now, the Commissioner of Police in Sokoto is demanding she be returned to him. We strongly believe this was a state-sponsored abduction intended to eliminate her.”
Rafsanjani warned against handing Hamdiyya back to Sokoto authorities, citing credible threats to her life. “These people appear determined to silence her permanently,” he added.
Amnesty International Nigeria has also expressed serious concern, calling for a full-scale investigation. In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Amnesty demanded swift government action:
“The Nigerian authorities must immediately investigate the vicious abduction of Hamdiyya Sidi Sharif in Sokoto on 20 May 2025 at around 10:00 am. This is the second time she has been abducted while facing a sham trial based on bogus charges filed by the Sokoto State government.”
Hamdiyya’s latest ordeal echoes a similar incident on 13 November 2024, when she was abducted by armed thugs while retrieving her phone. She was beaten, dragged into a tricycle, and later dumped by the roadside with serious injuries.
Civil society groups, human rights advocates, and international organizations have since intensified calls for her unconditional release and protection. They allege that the repeated attacks on Hamdiyya are politically motivated, aimed at silencing dissent and crushing youth activism in the state.
As the pressure mounts, attention now shifts to the Nigerian Police Force and the federal government to act decisively, ensure Hamdiyya’s safety, and bring those responsible for her abduction and persecution to justice.
