A staff member of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Mairiga Hassan Shaharu, has been released from police custody following a wave of public outcry and legal intervention over his allegedly unlawful detention orchestrated under false pretenses.
According to rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, Mairiga was arrested on the orders of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, using a forged court warrant—a move seen as an attempt to punish whistleblowing and cover up questionable land allocations in the FCT.
Sowore, who led the legal team that secured Mairiga’s release on Friday, said the detention was based on a fake court order, signed by a magistrate who no longer operates in that jurisdiction. The document was reportedly arranged through Wike’s Chief Security Officer, ACP Mohammed Iya Musa.
The incident stems from leaked documents allegedly exposing land allocations made by Wike to his two sons, which were first published by Peoples Gazette. Activists believe Mairiga’s arrest was an effort to identify and punish the source of the leak—though Mairiga doesn’t even have access to land approval systems, handling only new land applications.
Despite the clear irregularities in the arrest order, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) refused to show the document to Mairiga’s lawyers. A senior female officer even described Mairiga as “Wike’s personal detainee,” suggesting political interference in what should have been a legal matter.
FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Wale Ajao, defended the detention, claiming it was based on a valid court order—apparently unaware of the forgery.
In a surprising twist, Wike’s CSO reportedly contacted Sowore and invited both him and Mairiga to meet with the Minister—a proposal Sowore flatly rejected.
“If the leaked land allocation documents don’t exist, why was Mairiga arrested for leaking them?” Sowore asked. “Wike should be under investigation, not the whistleblower.”
Following his release, Mairiga was taken to the FCDA’s Head of Service and given a query with 72 hours to respond, a move activists say they will monitor closely to prevent further victimization.
Sowore praised lawyers Rosemary Hamza and AK Musa for their late-night intervention, calling them “indomitable defenders of justice,” and thanked Nigerians for standing against what he described as “an abuse of power aimed at intimidating truth-tellers.”
“We will not stop resisting tyranny,” Sowore vowed. “Nigeria must be liberated from corrupt and vindictive leadership.”
