Amnesty Condemns Arrest Of Five Men Over ‘Tinubu Must Go’ T-Shirts In Borno
By Sabiu Abdullahi
Amnesty International has condemned the arrest and detention of five men by the Borno State Police Command over T-shirts bearing the inscription “Tinubu Must Go” in Maiduguri.
The men were identified as Baba Aji Gremami, Mustapha Abba Yemen, Abacha Mohammed Ali, Adam Umar Gubio and Abdulhamid Mohammed.
The arrests followed an incident around the West End Roundabout area of Maiduguri on September 25, according to a First Information Report issued by the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).
The police accused the five men of criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, disturbance of public peace and thuggery. The FIR alleged that they printed T-shirts bearing the inscription “Tinubu Must Go” with the intention of causing a breach of public peace in the area. The charges were filed under Sections 60, 78, 79 and 392 of the Borno State Penal Code.
The men were subsequently arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court in Maiduguri, where reports said they pleaded not guilty to the charges. Their lawyers also applied for bail, with the court reportedly fixing October 6 for a ruling on the application and October 26 for the substantive case.
Reacting to the development, Amnesty International described the detention as arbitrary and said peaceful political expression should not be criminalised.
The organisation said the men’s detention over the message on their clothing raised concerns about freedom of expression and political dissent.
“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.”
Amnesty called for the immediate release of the five men and urged the authorities to discontinue any prosecution based on what it described as improper charges.
“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.”
The rights organisation also accused authorities in Borno State of increasingly using arrests and detention against opposition parties and their supporters.
It urged the state government and police to respect freedom of expression and association and ensure that political dissent is not criminalised.
Amnesty further called on the government of Governor Babagana Umara Zulum to uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of citizens to express their political opinions peacefully.
Reports that the arrests followed a directive from the Borno State Government have circulated in connection with the case, but those allegations have not been independently verified. The police FIR cited the alleged conduct of the five men as the basis for the charges.