The police have arrested journalist Ismail Auwali and blogger Buhari Abba for alleged defamation of Kano State Commissioner of Information and Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Waiya.
Mr Auwal is the publisher of Kano Times online, and was invited by the State’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
He was invited after Mr Waiya, filed a complaint with the CID of the Kano Police Command, accusing Auwal of defamation in a published open letter addressed to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
The letter, titled “Dear Gov. Yusuf, Beware of Kano Information Commissioner Ibrahim Waiya,” was published by Kano Times some weeks ago.
It was alleged that the published letter contains phrases that insinuates defamation of the commissioner’s character.
It was gathered that Auwal’s letter had warned that Waiya’s history with CSOs could undermine government credibility and suggested appointing a more neutral figure to mediate between the administration and activists.
Also, sources close to blogger Abba revealed that he received the invitation from the police on March 22, 2025 and honored the invitation March 24. He was later released on bail through efforts by the Human Rights Journalists Network.
It was also gathered that Ismail Auwal was also invited on the 25th March and currently he is still there.
