A Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) staff member has been released from detention after human rights activists exposed that his arrest was facilitated through a forged court order, allegedly on the instructions of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
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Mairiga Hassan Shaharu regained his freedom following late-night legal intervention and widespread public condemnation of what activists described as an abuse of power designed to silence whistleblowing on illegal land allocations.
Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore confirmed Shaharu’s release on Friday, revealing that the detention warrant used to hold the FCDA employee was fabricated.
“Following our late-night intervention and nationwide outcry, Mairiga Hassan Shaharu, a staff member of the FCDA who was illegally detained on the orders of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, has been released by the Nigeria Police Force after it was revealed that the detention warrant obtained to detain him was forged,” Sowore announced on social media.
The detention was reportedly facilitated through Wike’s Chief Security Officer, ACP Mohammed Iya Musa, in what Sowore described as “a blatant attempt to cover up criminal land-grabbing activities and silence legitimate whistleblowing.”
Mairiga’s detention was allegedly linked to leaked documents that exposed questionable land allocations by Minister Wike to his two sons. The documents were first published by Peoples Gazette, sparking controversy over the FCT Minister’s conduct.
However, Sowore pointed out that Mairiga does not have access to the Land Department’s internal systems, noting that his role is limited to handling new land applications rather than approvals or allocations.
On Thursday night, Sowore visited the FCDA Police Post alongside human rights lawyers Rosemary Hamza and AK Musa to secure Mairiga’s release. During their investigation, the legal team discovered serious irregularities with the detention order.
According to the lawyers, one team member managed to briefly view the purported court order and discovered it was issued by a magistrate who no longer presides in the jurisdiction—clear evidence of forgery.
The Investigating Police Officer (IPO) in charge of the case refused to show the lawyers the order, further raising suspicions about its authenticity.
During the rescue operation, a senior female police officer summoned from Karu to calm tensions reportedly stated that she lacked authority to release Mairiga because he was considered “Wike’s personal detainee.”
After nearly three hours of negotiations, Wike’s CSO claimed the case had been handed over to FCT Commissioner of Police CP Wale Ajao—the same officer recently criticized for helping imprison a TikToker on behalf of Senator Ned Nwoko and his wife, Regina Daniels.
When Sowore contacted CP Ajao directly, the commissioner insisted the detention was based on a valid court order, apparently unaware that the forgery had already been discovered.
In what Sowore described as “the most brazen move,” Wike’s CSO reportedly called to say the Minister wanted to meet Sowore and the detained worker at his office the following morning.
“I asked him if he even knew who he was speaking to. I told him flatly, Wike couldn’t have summoned me, he knew better than to make such a mistake, and I will not be visiting his office,” Sowore stated.
Before ending the call with Wike’s CSO, Sowore posed a pointed question: “If Wike never allocated land to his children, why is someone being detained for leaking documents that supposedly don’t exist?”
He argued that “Wike should be the one under investigation for allocating public lands to his children — clear criminal conduct — not Citizen Mairiga.”
Following his release, Mairiga has been taken to the Head of Service at the FCDA, where he is to be issued a query and given 72 hours to respond.
Sowore confirmed that activists are “closely monitoring the situation to ensure that Mr. Mairiga’s rights are not further violated by his superiors.”
Sowore expressed special gratitude to the legal team that secured Mairiga’s freedom, describing attorneys Rosemary Hamza and AK Musa as “the roving, indomitable, ever-mobile legal patrol crew.”
“We commend the courage of Nigerians who stood up in condemnation of this abuse of power,” he added, promising to “continue to resist tyranny and ensure the liberation of our country.”
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