The National Citizen Party has issued a show‑cause letter to Nizam Uddin, joint coordinator of the NCP’s Chittagong city unit, after a video of him demanding extortion money surfaced on social media.
The letter, signed by the NCP Chittagong metropolitan committee joint coordinator (office), Arif Moinuddin, was sent to him on Monday afternoon.
The notice says: “Through news published in various news media of Bangladesh on August 10, a video of you has come to the attention of the NCP Chittagong metropolitan committee. As a result, allegations of violation of party discipline have been raised against you.
"In this situation, you are requested to submit, within the next 24 hours, a written explanation to Mir Arshadul Haque, chief joint coordinator of NCP Chittagong metropolitan, as to why action should not be taken against you for violation of party discipline.”
The video clip in question shows Nizam Uddin demanding Tk5 lakh in extortion to suppress a port‑centric movement in Chittagong.
On Sunday evening, a video of his conversation with another person related to the incident spread on Facebook. In it, he is heard asking for money to stop the movement.
Earlier, on July 5, a woman sent a letter to the police commissioner accusing Nizam of extortion. In the letter, the woman stated that after failing to extort Tk2 crore, Nizam had her husband falsely implicated in a police case. At that time, he was the member secretary of the Chittagong city branch of the Anti‑Discrimination Student Movement.
Following the allegation, his post was suspended. Later, his position was reinstated.
In the one‑and‑a‑half‑minute video that spread on Facebook, a man named Aftab Hossain Rifat is seen speaking to Nizam on Messenger, which was recorded on another phone. At the beginning, Aftab says: “If Mir Bhai and others do not stop the movement, then what shall we do?” In reply, Nizam Uddin says: “I will stop the movement. Have they given you money?” From the other side, Aftab replies: “Yes.”
When asked how much money has been given, Aftab says: “Five.” Then Nizam is heard saying: “Take more by applying pressure… see whether you can take another Tk5 lakh from them, and if you can, I will bring them to Rohan and Mir and give them something.”
According to the party’s leaders and activists, Aftab is the port-centric coordinator of the Anti‑Discrimination Student Movement in Chittagong.
The video was uploaded to Facebook by Rahadul Islam, former joint member secretary of the Chittagong city branch of the Anti‑Discrimination Student Movement.
He wrote: “While suppressing the movement against Saif Powertech, Nizam Uddin embezzled Tk5 lakh. This is not only corruption, it is a direct betrayal of the trust of students and the public.”
Rahadul said: “Someone gave me the video. Allegations of extortion had been raised against Nizam before. This time, there is an allegation of taking money from Saif Powertech to suppress the port‑centric movement.”
Regarding the allegation, the NCP's Nizam said: “These are old videos. By spreading them, an attempt is being made to politically corner me. These are planned videos. The person who made the video (Aftab) will go live and explain in detail.”
The NCP Chittagong chief coordinator, Mir Arshadul Haque, said: “After the earlier allegations, during the formation of the NCP committee, we had inquired about him from the Anti‑Discrimination Student Movement. Based on their positive response, he was kept on the committee. Now that an allegation has been raised, we will seek an explanation from him according to party rules.”
Notably, on April 23, under the leadership of Russell Ahmed, NCP northern region organizer, an organization named “Port Protection Movement” held a procession and rally in the city’s Customs area on the issue of the New Mooring Container Terminal.
