Amnesty International Nigeria has raised strong concerns over an arrest warrant issued against Hamdiyya Sidi Sharif, a vocal critic of Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, describing the move as a clear violation of her right to a fair hearing.
The warrant was issued on July 10 by a magistrate court sitting in Gwiwa, under Wurno Local Government Area, after Hamdiyya failed to appear in court the previous day.

Amnesty International insists the absence was due to her ongoing medical treatment,which was a direct result of the trauma she suffered following a violent abduction.

“The warrant of arrest… is contrary to all tenets of fair hearing and justice,” the human rights organization said in a statement posted on its official X handle.

The group called for the immediate withdrawal of the warrant, especially as a motion for trial in absentia had already been filed by her legal team on June 19.

Hamdiyya is currently facing criminal charges brought by the Sokoto State Government, including “use of insulting or abusive language” and “inciting disturbance”*.

These offenses are tied to her alleged public criticism of Governor Ahmed Aliyu’s response to worsening insecurity in the eastern parts of the state.

The case has drawn widespread attention, especially after it emerged that Hamdiyya has been kidnapped twice since the trial began.

In the most recent incident on May 20, her family and lawyers reported her missing after she left home to buy food items.

She was later found abandoned in a forest in Zamfara State, bearing signs of severe physical abuse.

An earlier abduction took place on November 13, 2024, when she was reportedly seized by armed men while retrieving her mobile phone from a charging point.

Eyewitnesses said she was beaten, pushed out of a moving tricycle, and left on the roadside with serious injuries.

Despite these documented threats to her life, critics say the state government has continued to pursue charges against her while failing to hold her attackers accountable.

“Instead of trying to suppress dissenting voices through the abuse of power,” Amnesty International stated, “Sokoto State Government and Nigerian security agencies should prioritise urgently addressing rampant insecurity… where gunmen have been killing people, razing villages, [and] abducting women and girls — almost daily,” the statement concluded.

https://dailypost.ng/2025/07/11/amnesty-intl-demands-withdrawal-of-arrest-warrant-against-young-sokoto-critic/