Human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, has secured the release of Mairiga Hassan Shaharu, the FCDA staff falsely accused of leaking documents exposing FCT Minister Nyesom Wike’s massive land looting.

Mr Sowore, who visited Mr Shaharu in police detention, announced his release in a post on X on Friday.

“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 @policeng after it was revealed that the detention warrant obtained to detain him was forged,” Mr Sowore said.

He added, “The detention, facilitated through Wike’s CSO, ACP Mohammed Iya Musa, was a blatant attempt to cover up criminal land-grabbing activities and silence legitimate whistleblowing.”

Mr Sowore commended Nigerians who called for Mr Shaharu’s release, stating, “He has since been taken to the Head of Service at the FCDA, where he is to be issued a query and given 72 hours to respond. We are closely monitoring the situation to ensure that Mr. Mairiga’s rights are not further violated by his superiors.”

Mr Shaharu was arrested and detained on claims that he leaked documents exposing Mr Wike’s massive land-grabbing scheme reported by The Peoples Gazette.

In two exclusive stories, The Gazette exposed how Mr Wike allocated thousands of hectares of land to his sons, Jordan and Joaquin.

At least 3,822 hectares, potentially worth $6.45 billion, have been allocated by Mr Wike to his two sons, Jordan, 25, and Joaquin, 23, over the past year, The Gazette reported on June 26 and July 1, using land administration documents directly from the minister’s office.