HARGEISA (KAAB TV) – On Monday, Somaliland’s security services detained opposition MP Mohamed Abib in Hargeisa shortly after his return from a trip to Dubai, UAE.
Abib, a vocal critic of President Muse Bihi Abdi, was taken into custody at the airport.
Sources at Hargeisa Airport told Kaab TV that intelligence officers were waiting for the MP and apprehended him as soon as he disembarked from the plane.
According to Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Said Mire, authorities initially transferred Abib to a police station but later learned that intelligence agents had moved him to an undisclosed location.
MP Abib, who hails from the Awdal region, has been at odds with the Somaliland government for some time.
In August, the Attorney General of Somaliland requested the House of Representatives to revoke Abib’s parliamentary immunity to pursue criminal charges against him.
Documents obtained by our reporter reveal that the Attorney General accused Abib of meeting with officials from the Somali and Djiboutian governments and speaking critically about Somaliland’s conflict in Las Anod, where clashes between Somaliland forces and local Dhulbahante fighters resulted in significant civilian casualties last year.
The request to lift Abib’s immunity, however, stalled due to a lack of quorum in the House.
It remains unclear whether Abib’s detention on Monday is directly related to these accusations.
His home region, Awdal, is currently at the center of a controversial memorandum of understanding between Somaliland and Ethiopia, allowing Ethiopia to acquire 20 square kilometers of land for a military base—an agreement opposed by the Somali federal government.
Waddani Party leader Abdirahman Abdullahi Irro condemned Abib’s detention, calling it a violation of the law and the Constitution.
“I tell President Muse Bihi, the Attorney General, and the Supreme Court Chairman that the arrest of MP Mohamed Abib is a legal violation and a clear breach of the Constitution. Abib is a member of parliament with constitutionally guaranteed immunity that no one can violate,” Irro said while addressing a local community in Gebiley on Monday.
“Abib must be freed immediately and unconditionally,” he added.