A former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has called for the immediate release or prosecution of Kaduna-based cleric, Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria, over his continued detention without trial.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Atiku Media Office, Atiku described the cleric’s detention since December 2025 as a violation of his fundamental rights.
According to the statement posted on X by Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, Sheikh Khalifa has been held over allegations of involvement in a coup plot but has not been formally charged before any court of law.
The former vice president said the development raises serious constitutional and human rights concerns, particularly as a subsisting order of the Federal High Court directing that the cleric be presented in court has allegedly been ignored.
“There can be no democracy without strict adherence to the rule of law. No security agency is above the Constitution, and none has the power to treat the rights of citizens as privileges to be dispensed with at will,” the statement read.
He warned that the continued detention of the cleric without access to his family, legal counsel, and adequate medical care amounts to a violation of his constitutional rights.
Atiku added that such actions by security agencies could undermine Nigeria’s democratic foundations and erode citizens’ fundamental rights.