Sadiq Wali vs Calculate: Ardo expresses support for Jada, vows to challenge state sponsored repression
Respected Adamawa politician and prominent public intellectual, Dr. Umar Ardo, has expressed strong support for Umar Bello Jada, popularly known as “Calculate,” who has been in detention since last week following a defamation dispute with Alhaji Sadiq Wali.
In a passionate statement issued to this medium, Ardo condemned the arrest and declared his unflinching commitment to stand by Calculate in what he described as a blatant act of injustice.
Related news
Adamawa commissioner of environment denies self, father’s involvement in Calculate’s troubles
In a fiery defiance, Calculate begs Fintiri to immediately demolish his fated house
Describing Calculate’s ordeal as symptomatic of a deeper culture of repression under Governor Ahmadu Fintiri’s administration, Ardo affirmed that he will not stand by while rights are trampled with impunity.
“I sympathize with Calculate and will help him in this fight. He should know he’s not alone in this. Injustice to any must be seen as injustice to all. This is the price all those who stand against the rotten system the governor and his cohorts are operating in Adamawa State must pay,” Ardo said.
Dr. Ardo, who said he has faced similar onslaught in the past decried what he called state-sponsored intimidation.
He recounted a personal experience in April 2020 when he claimed to have been targeted by government-backed thugs following the creation of a breakaway faction of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the “r-PDP.” According to Ardo, his residence was attacked during the Easter holiday in 2020.
“Fintiri’s thugs, led by his head-thug, Dogo, a foreigner attacked my house. They destroyed six cars, damaged doors, windows, and the roof, and left several individuals injured,” he noted.
“Despite reporting the incident and providing law enforcement with the names, contact details, and addresses of those involved, the police made no effort to investigate.
“Instead, the state government used the police as an instrument of repression. On the governor’s directive, the police commissioner sent a unit of mobile officers 125 kilometers to my hometown, Kojoli. They shut down our r-PDP office, removed our flags, and arrested our factional chairman, Mr. Phillip Buji. When I sent a lawyer to secure his release, the lawyer was arrested too. Even my personal assistant, who brought food to them, was detained,” he said.
In an even more alarming twist, Ardo explained that the governor’s faction manipulated the judicial system to press trumped-up charges during a nationwide court shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Despite a circular from the Chief Justice of Nigeria ordering all courts closed, the Adamawa State Judiciary was compelled to open a magistrate court to charge me and others with fabricated crimes, including terrorism,” Ardo added.
He added that since he was in his residence in Asokoro, Abuja, when the others were arraigned, he was charged in absentia in a Yola magistrate court.
“I had to show the police commissioner and the governor that I was not their mate. Not only was the case withdrawn and all those arrested released, but the police commissioner himself was removed from the state. I proved to them that Nigeria is a nation governed by laws — not men,” Ardo added.
Ardo noted that Calculate’s arrest fits a familiar pattern under Governor Fintiri’s rule, a pattern of political intimidation.
“Nothing surprises me about this governor anymore. Violence and intimidation are his preferred tools. But Calculate must see this moment as part of a bigger sacrifice for the advancement of democracy in our state,” he added.
Pledging concrete legal support, Ardo noted, “We will get a team of lawyers to defend him. We will ensure that the rule of law prevails. No one is above the law not even the governor.”
