HURIWA Condemns Arrest of Borno Youths Over Facebook Post

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned the reported arrest and detention of three youths in Shani local government area of Borno State over a Facebook post concerning the council’s Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) receipts.

The affected youths were identified as Salihu Yahaya, Haruna Mohammed and Muhammed Mallum.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, on Saturday in Abuja, HURIWA alleged that the three were arrested after sharing information stating that Shani Local Government Area received about N3.11 billion in FAAC allocations between January and June 2026.

The rights group described the reported arrests as disturbing, arguing that citizens should not be detained for expressing opinions, sharing information or seeking accountability concerning public funds.

HURIWA called for the immediate and unconditional release of the three youths, if their detention was solely connected to the publication.

It also demanded N100 million in compensation for what it described as the alleged violation of the fundamental rights of the affected citizens.

The organisation called on the Inspector-General of Police to urgently intervene and directed a deadline of 2pm on Saturday for decisive action towards securing the youths’ release.

HURIWA maintained that public officials, including local government chairmen, are custodians of public resources and should respond to questions about public funds with facts rather than resorting to the arrest of citizens.

“If the figures published by the youths are inaccurate, the appropriate response is to provide the correct figures and publicly explain the discrepancy — not arrest the messenger,” the group said.

According to figures cited by HURIWA, Shani Local Government Area received a cumulative N3,110,132,578.97 between January and June 2026.

The group said the reported monthly allocations were N514.80 million in January, N533.46 million in February, N474.92 million in March, N496.11 million in April, N551.90 million in May and N538.95 million in June.

It said the figures comprised statutory allocations, Value Added Tax, augmentation, ecology funds, Electronic Money Transfer Levy and other applicable components.

HURIWA challenged the relevant authorities to clarify which aspect of the information published by the youths was allegedly false or criminal, insisting that public funds should be subject to legitimate scrutiny by citizens.