The police in Abuja have arrested an innocent civil servant amidst a frantic hunt for the source of Peoples Gazette’s ongoing series on Nyesom Wike’s theft of Abuja lands for his children.

Mairiga Hassan Shaharu, attached to the Fresh Applications Unit of Abuja Geographic Information System, was picked up by a team of police detectives on Tuesday afternoon, The Gazette learnt. His whereabouts remained unknown as of Wednesday morning, fueling concerns within his family that he might be undergoing torture or worse.

A spokesman for the police promised to fetch details of the arrest and get back to our reporters. Mr Shaharu’s department frontloads new filings for AGIS, which manages and verifies land ownership and asset records throughout the Federal Capital Territory.

Mr Shaharu’s colleagues said they expected Mr Wike to continue making mistakes by arresting and punishing low-to-mid-level officials who had nothing to do with The Gazette’s sourcing of the documents that illustrated the extent of the minister’s fraud. Officials also said the minister has become paranoid and increased his consumption of alcohol in the days following our first report on the matter. 

“He’s confused and moving fast, which is why he keeps making mistakes,” an official informed on the minister’s activity told The Gazette. “He’s been drinking even more heavily now and cursing at everybody, including his wife.” Mr Wike’s wife, Eberechi Suzette Nyesom-Wike, is a federal appellate court judge.

A spokesman for the minister was not immediately available for comment on Mr Shaharu’s arrest.

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.

The series sparked nationwide uproar, forcing the minister to claim that his political foes leaked the documents showing his allocations to his children. Several unrecognised groups also held media rounds, defending the minister against what they purported to be politically motivated reporting by The Gazette.