The whereabouts of Salihu Tanko Yakassai, Special Adviser on Media to Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State, remains unknown.
Yakassai was relieved of his appointment over what government alleged as his continued unguarded comments and utterances which are deemed contrary to the stand of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government which he is serving.
Recall that he had on Friday, February 26, via his Twitter handle, called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to either deal with bandits in the country or resign from office.
He stated this on Twitter while reacting to the abduction of 317 schoolgirls in Zamfara.
”Clearly, we as APC government, at all levels, have failed Nigerians in the number one duty we were elected to do which is to secure lives & properties. Not a single day goes by without some sort of insecurity in this land. This is a shame! Deal with terrorists decisively or resign.
”Each time another tragedy happens, we lament, condemn, create hashtag, the govt pretends to do something, no concrete steps to prevent reoccurrence, and then we repeat the process. To what end? Where are those saddled with the responsibility?
”Just last week, it was #freekagaraboys, today we have a new hashtag #RescueJangebeGirls, who knows tomorrow what hashtag we will come up with? Perhaps one for ourselves when we get caught up in one of these daring attacks. This is sad & heartbreaking; I feel helpless & hopeless,” he tweeted.
Shortly after tweeting, his whereabouts became unknown, causing many of his friends to come on Twitter to demand answers.
Son of elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, Salihu was said to have been arrested by security operatives Friday over his comments on Buhari and APC.
Alhaji Yakassai confirmed the arrest of his son to reporters in a telephone interview in Kano on Saturday and said his son was arrested on Friday on his way to a barber’s shop in the city.
“Yes, Salihu has been with the security operatives since yesterday (Friday). He was arrested on his way to a barbing saloon. But I cannot confirm to you whether he is here in Kano or somewhere else,” he said.
Sources close to Mr Salihu Yakassai informed our correspondent that he was taken to Abuja by the security operatives.
Saturday morning, one of the aides of the Kano state governor who handles the official handle of the state, Abubakar Sadiq, stated on Twitter, that Salihu Tanko-Yakassai was with the DSS.
The DSS has, however, denied this claim, saying it did not arrest or even invite Salihu.
The DSS State Director Muhammad Alhassan said, “we have not arrested or even invited Yakasai. don’t forget he is our friend, sometimes, he advise us on issues of critical Security situations in the state.”
Earlier, the state commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, who conveyed the governor’s directive in a statement in Kano on Saturday, had said the sack was with immediate effect.
He said the aide had failed to differentiate between personal opinion and official stand on matters of public concern and therefore cannot be allowed to continue to serve in a government he did not believe.
Kano governor also warned political appointees and public servants to guard against making statements capable of drawing superfluous controversy.
The statement reaffirmed the commitment of Governor Ganduje to the policies and programmes of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Meanwhile, many Nigerians have reacted to the statement that his whereabouts was not known tweeting for the freedom of Salihu Yakassai.
