Mokwa, who is known for his public criticism of Governor Umar Bago’s administration, was arrested after referring to the governor as “Governor Amunike” in several online commentaries.
The Niger State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of Abubakar Isah Mokwa, a 29-year-old master’s degree student of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), following a formal criminal complaint filed against him.
Mokwa, who is known for his public criticism of Governor Umar Bago’s administration, was arrested after referring to the governor as “Governor Amunike” in several online commentaries.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the student was picked up from his home in Lapai and moved to the Police Command Headquarters in Minna.
Confirming the development, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Wasiu A. Abiodun, told newsmen that the police acted on a petition received against Mokwa.
He said, “The Niger State Police Command has received a formal criminal complaint against one Abubakar Isah Mokwa, a 29-year-old indigene of Mokwa and a postgraduate student of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL).”
According to Abiodun, the complaint was based on alleged offences under Nigeria’s cybercrime laws.
He further noted that officers of the Lapai Division carried out the arrest after the complaint was received.
Abiodun said, “Following the report, the suspect was invited and subsequently arrested by operatives of the Lapai Division on October 23, 2025, at about 11:00 p.m.
“He has since been transferred to the State Police Command Headquarters in Minna for further investigation in connection with the allegations.”
He added that the matter was still under investigation and that the public would be updated on the outcome.
“The suspect is currently in police custody, and further developments on the investigation will be communicated to the public in due course,” he said.
Before his arrest, Mokwa had expressed fear that police officers were monitoring him. He alleged that two policemen from the Lapai Division had visited his lodge asking about his whereabouts, prompting him to post online that he feared being “bundled” by the authorities.
He also used his social media pages to address Governor Bago directly, criticising the administration’s handling of issues affecting residents and repeatedly calling the governor “Governor Amunike.”
‘Governor Amunike’ is a mocking nickname that some social media users apply to certain governors or politicians to ridicule them as clueless, boastful, or underperforming.
The term originates from Emmanuel Amunike, the former Nigerian footballer and Super Eagles winger. In political slang, however, it’s used sarcastically, not to insult Amunike himself, but to suggest that the politician being mocked is “playing politics like bad football” or “kicking governance around without direction.”
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