Opinion

GALADIMA’S ALLEGATIONS AGAINST GOVERNOR YUSUF AND THE DSS: POLITICALLY MOTIVATED, EVIDENTIALLY BASELESS, AND INSTITUTIONALLY DANGEROUS

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<p><&excl;-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;99 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"eYGhtjc6" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"L1ZPdjXW" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Unifier Project&comma; a national civic organization committed to democratic accountability&comma; responsible public discourse&comma; and peaceful coexistence&comma; has taken note of the recent media interview by Alhaji Buba Galadima&comma; in which he advanced allegations against His Excellency&comma; Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State&comma; and the Department of State Services &lpar;DSS&rpar; in Kano&period; He alleged&comma; without verifiable evidence&comma; that opposition voices in Kano State are being suppressed through the instrumentality of federal security agencies&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>After a thorough review of the substance&comma; context&comma; and timing of these claims&comma; the Unifier Project states unequivocally that the allegations are devoid of credible foundation and are driven by narrow political considerations rather than genuine democratic concern&period; We make this statement because the deployment of unsubstantiated allegations against public institutions carries measurable consequences for the stability of our democratic order&comma; social cohesion&comma; and public confidence in institutions&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The Unifier Project has examined Alhaji Galadima&&num;8217&semi;s claims with the seriousness they demand&period; Our conclusion is unambiguous&colon; not a single allegation is supported by documentary evidence&comma; sworn testimony&comma; or any verifiable account that could withstand independent scrutiny&period; What has been placed before the Nigerian public is a collection of assertions coloured by personal grievance&comma; political frustration&comma; and the rhetoric of a man whose relationship with the current political order in Kano has undergone a well-documented deterioration&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Allegations of political interference in a federal security institution such as the DSS are extraordinarily serious&period; They implicate constitutional principles&comma; the rule of law&comma; and citizens&&num;8217&semi; fundamental rights&period; Precisely because they are so serious&comma; they demand an equally serious evidentiary standard&period; A press interview saturated with political animus and bereft of supporting documentation does not meet that standard&period; The Unifier Project calls on the public&comma; the media&comma; and the political community to treat these claims with the scepticism they deserve&comma; and to resist amplifying unverified allegations simply because they are confidently stated&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;99 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"xURE9ofw" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"6550225277"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>No responsible analysis can proceed without examining context&period; It is public record that Alhaji Galadima was recently removed from the board of Kano State Polytechnic&period; It is equally public record that these intensified allegations emerged immediately after that removal&comma; and against the backdrop of Governor Yusuf&&num;8217&semi;s association with the APC&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The Unifier Project does not suggest that political disappointment forfeits the right to speak&period; Every citizen retains constitutional freedom of expression&comma; unconditioned by political loyalty&period; However&comma; when a public figure who has suffered an identifiable political setback immediately turns to making sweeping&comma; institution-threatening allegations against those who administered that setback&comma; the burden of proof rises sharply&comma; and the public&&num;8217&semi;s obligation to interrogate motive rises with it&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The pattern of timing is neither subtle nor coincidental&period; It is the familiar architecture of a grievance campaign dressed in the language of democratic concern&period; The Unifier Project calls it by its proper name&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The DSS is a constitutionally established institution charged with protecting Nigeria&&num;8217&semi;s internal security&period; To allege&comma; without evidence&comma; that it is being weaponised for partisan purposes in Kano is not merely to criticise a governor&period; It is to invite the public to regard a pillar of national security as corrupt and undeserving of trust&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The consequences are not abstract&period; Citizens who distrust security institutions cooperate less with them&comma; report fewer threats&comma; and become more susceptible to criminal&comma; extremist&comma; or vigilante alternatives that fill the resulting vacuum&period; In a state as significant as Kano&comma; with its population density&comma; economic centrality to Northern Nigeria&comma; and historical vulnerabilities&comma; the erosion of institutional confidence is not a political game&period; It is a security hazard&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The Unifier Project calls upon Alhaji Galadima and all who have amplified these allegations to reflect on their consequences&comma; and to consider whether any personal or partisan interest is worth the institutional damage they risk inflicting on the Nigerian state&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The Unifier Project affirms without qualification that freedom of expression is a democratic value we defend&comma; including when exercised by those whose motives we question&period; We do not seek to silence Alhaji Galadima or any citizen with grievances against authority&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;However&comma; freedom of expression has never been a licence for evidence-free&comma; potentially defamatory targeting of individuals and institutions&period; The Nigerian Constitution&comma; the African Charter on Human and Peoples&&num;8217&semi; Rights&comma; and international democratic standards all recognise that expression carries responsibilities of accuracy&comma; fairness&comma; and proportionality&period; Public commentary making serious allegations without factual grounding risks crossing into defamation&comma; with all the legal consequences that entails&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;We call upon political actors&comma; commentators&comma; social media influencers&comma; and media organisations to uphold responsible communication&period; Verify before you amplify&period; Question the motive behind the message&period; The coordinated spread of unverified allegations through digital platforms is information warfare with real victims&comma; real consequences&comma; and real costs to our democracy&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Alhaji Galadima&&num;8217&semi;s allegations did not emerge in isolation&period; They are part of a pattern of coordinated negative messaging that has intensified following recent political developments in Kano State&period; Across Facebook&comma; X&comma; WhatsApp&comma; and TikTok&comma; a campaign of narrative warfare has been waged against the person&comma; record&comma; and administration of Governor Yusuf&comma; drawing on fabricated claims&comma; decontextualised information&comma; emotional manipulation&comma; and strategic amplification of partisan voices&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;This is the architecture of a disinformation operation&period; Its goal is not to inform but to destabilise&comma; manufacturing a political reality so saturated with negativity that truth becomes difficult to locate and public confidence impossible to sustain&period; The Unifier Project calls on regulatory bodies&comma; civil society&comma; and responsible media to take a stronger&comma; coordinated stand against the weaponisation of digital platforms for political disinformation&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The Unifier Project calls upon political actors of all affiliations to commit to evidence-based communication and refrain from making or endorsing unsubstantiated allegations&period; We call upon the media&comma; traditional and digital&comma; to apply rigorous editorial standards to politically charged claims&comma; demand evidence before amplification&comma; and uphold their responsibility as gatekeepers of the public information environment&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;We call upon civil society&comma; religious leaders&comma; traditional rulers&comma; and community influencers across Kano State and Northern Nigeria to resist divisive narratives and serve as anchors of reason and social cohesion&period; We call upon citizens to engage critically with political information&comma; ask who benefits from the narratives placed before them&comma; and demand the same standard of evidence from political actors that they would demand from any other party&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The future of Nigerian democracy will be determined not only by the quality of its leaders&comma; but by the quality of its public discourse&period; That discourse is under sustained attack&period; The Unifier Project is committed to defending it&comma; and we invite every Nigerian of goodwill to stand with us&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Issued and authorised by&colon;<br &sol;>&NewLine;NAJEEB NASIR IBRAHIM<br &sol;>&NewLine;National Director-General&comma; The Unifier Project<br &sol;>&NewLine;Abuja&comma; Nigeria &vert; 28 February 2026<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;-- END THEIA POST SLIDER -->&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;99 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad5" id&equals;"quads-ad5" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;99 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"autorelaxed" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1004305389"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;99 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad3" id&equals;"quads-ad3" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;

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