Tinubu’s Move to Free Ekweremadu Driven by 2027 Politics – Mahdi Shehu

Social critic and activist, Mahdi Shehu, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of using the plight of former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu as a political tool ahead of the 2027 elections.

In a post on his X handle on Tuesday, Shehu argued that the President’s recent decision to set up a high-powered committee to engage the United Kingdom government over Ekweremadu’s imprisonment was not an act of compassion but a calculated political move.

Ekweremadu has been serving a sentence in the UK since his 2023 conviction for organ trafficking.

According to Shehu, the President had long ignored the issue until it became politically useful.

“Tinubu has suddenly woken up from diplomatic slumber and remembered Ekweremadu,” he wrote, adding that the senator had spent years in prison without any robust intervention from the Nigerian government.

Shehu queried why the President moved to establish a special committee despite Nigeria not having a substantive ambassador to the UK, a position he said could have handled the matter through established diplomatic channels.

He described Tinubu’s approach as reactive, coming at a time when the diplomatic window to influence Ekweremadu’s case had largely closed.

“The UK justice system is nearly watertight. The opportunity to resolve the Ekweremadu issue was lost long ago,” Shehu said.

He stated that the only remaining path for Nigeria was to explore a prisoner transfer agreement, but only if such a treaty exists and has been fully executed between both countries.

Shehu insisted that the planned diplomatic intervention was not motivated by empathy but by political gain.

In his words: “Tinubu is using the Jamboree trip to show he cares because the election is approaching. Ekweremadu is the only visible Ndi-Igbo that is not on the train from Bombay to Goa. With him on board, Ndi-Igbo will be finally captured.”

He alleged that Ekweremadu’s political relevance makes him a valuable asset to the President ahead of 2027, hinting that Tinubu hopes to win over the South-East by securing his release.

The activist also criticised what he described as selective concern for Nigerians in trouble abroad.

According to him, countless Nigerians are detained globally, but they will not receive the same attention because they do not hold electoral value.

“Other Nigerians convicted or detained all over the world will never receive Ekweremadu attention. Even if they are released, they will be of no political value to Tinubu,” he declared.

He warned that the move, in his view, represents a “visible miscalculation” by the presidency.

The Presidency has yet to respond to Shehu’s comments.