Borno State police arrest five men over ‘Tinubu Must Go’ T-shirts

Five men were arrested and remanded in Maiduguri, Borno State, following the wearing of T-shirts inscribed with the slogan “Tinubu Must Go.” The defendants, identified as Baba Aji Gremami, Mustapha Abba Yemen, Abbacha Mohammed Ali, Adam Umar Gubio, and Abdulhamid Mohammed, face charges including criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, and thuggery.

Borno State Police Command clarified that the arrests were not based on political affiliation but were part of a routine patrol where officers allegedly recovered suspected Indian hemp, D5 tablets, and a shisha pot alongside the T-shirts. The Command maintains that the Nigeria Police Force is a non-partisan institution.

However, the arrests have sparked intense debate regarding freedom of expression. Amnesty International condemned the detention as arbitrary, labeling the drug allegations a “desperate attempt” to justify the crackdown on peaceful political dissent. Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar also called for the immediate release of the men, arguing that expressing political opinions through clothing should not be a criminal offense in a democracy.