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Summary
Hamdiyyah Sidi, an 18-year-old activist, is currently facing continuous trials, harassment, and persecution for speaking against Sokoto state governor Ahmed Aliyu’s failed administration. In her shared video in November 2024, Hamdiyyah highlighted how her village, located in the eastern part of Sokoto, faced daily bandits, killings, abduction and sexual exploitation of women and girls.
Hamdiyyah Sidi, an 18-year-old activist from Sokoto state, is currently facing trial, persecution, and harassment for publicly criticising the state’s governor, Ahmed Aliyu, ’s failure to curb insecurity and banditry in the state.
In the viral video she shared on TikTok in November 2024, Hamdiyyah speaks out about how her village is constantly attacked by bandits who kill men, abduct women and girls, and leave families shattered. She explained that these recurring incidents are a result of the state government’s failure in security and its inability to fulfil the responsibility of protecting its citizens.
She publicly addressed the governor, saying:
“Ahmad Ali, as a leader, as a father, as a Muslim, as someone blessed with responsibility, how would you feel if kidnappers entered your home and violated your parents, your wife, your sisters, or your children?
Consequently, the state government charged her with the use of insulting or abusive language and inciting public disturbance against the governor. On November 13, 2024, Hamdiyyah was abducted by armed men in a tricycle on her way to collect her mobile phone. They beat and threw her from the moving vehicle, leaving her with severe injuries. After this incident, she was arrested by Sokoto state’s authorities and formally charged in a Sharia court for use of insulting or abusive language and inciting disturbance against the governor.
During a court appearance in April 2025, Hamdiyyah was given the option of 12 strokes of the cane, two years’ imprisonment, or a fine of ₦50,000. But her lawyers clarified that the trial was ongoing and that no final judgment had been issued at that time.
Again, Hamdiyyah was abducted on May 20, 2025, hours before her scheduled court appearance on May 21, 2025. She was found on May 21, 2025, in critical condition at a hospital in Bakura, Zamfara State, with signs of being drugged and beaten. She was abandoned in a bush and rescued by local vigilantes.
Human rights groups and Amnesty International have called for the acquittal of all charges against her and an investigation into the armed men who abducted her. The state government has remained largely silent on the matter and chose to continue pursuing its case against her for her social media posts.
