By Kingston Magare 29.9.2026
Five men have been arrested by the police in Borno State for allegedly printing and wearing “Tinubu must go T-shirts”
The men include Baba Aji Gremami, Mustapha Abba Yemen, Abbacha Mohammed Ali, Adam Umar Gubio, and Abdulhamid Mohammed. They were arrested on September 25.
They face charges of criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, and thuggery, and have been remanded in a correctional facility.
According to the police the men were arrested to prevent public disturbance.
Meanwhile Amnesty International called the detentions repressive and undemocratic, highlighting tensions over free speech.
“Tinubu Must Go” in Maiduguri. Those detained are: Baba Aji Gremami; Mustapha Abba Yemen; Abacha Mohammed Ali; Adam Umar Gubio; and Abdulhamid Mohammed.
Hurriedly remanding them in prison and accusing them bizarrely of: “the intent to cause breach of public peace within West End Roundabout Community Maiduguri” simply for wearing a t-shirt with a message of political dissent is not a crime. Asserting political opposition is part of human rights.
The authorities must immediately release all of those detained and drop any purported plan to put them through a sham trial based on bogus charges. The right to show and express political opinion is not exclusive to only one political party.
Borno state government and the police have increasingly been carrying out repressive arrests and detentions targeting opposition political parties and their supporters.
Authorities in Borno state have resorted to the familiar playbook of using the law to criminalize peaceful dissent and silence opposition.
The government of Babagana Umara Zulum must not engage in cracking down on peaceful dissent and unleashing the punitive power of the state on political opponents. The government must uphold and ensure the rights of everyone to freedom of expression and association and respect the rule of law.