Amnesty condemns arrest, detention of five men over ‘Tinubu Must Go’ t-shirts
Amnesty International has condemned the recent arrest of five individuals in Maiduguri, Borno State, following allegations that they wore T-shirts inscribed with the phrase, “Tinubu Must Go.”
The detainees have been named as Baba Aji Gremami, Mustapha Abba Yemen, Abacha Mohammed Ali, Adam Umar Gubio, and Abdulhamid Mohammed. According to Amnesty, the men were charged after allegedly printing and wearing the T-shirts, facing accusations of criminal conspiracy, inciting public disturbance, and thuggery.
In a statement, Amnesty International labeled the detention as arbitrary, asserting that expressing political dissent through clothing should not be deemed a criminal act. The organization criticized the swift remand of the individuals to prison, describing the charges as baseless.
“Hurriedly remanding them in prison and accusing them bizarrely of intent to cause breach of public peace simply for wearing a T-shirt with a message of political dissent is not a crime,” the organization stated, emphasizing that the ability to express political views is a fundamental human right.
Amnesty underscored that the right to express political opinions is not limited to any one political party. The organization has called for the immediate release of the five individuals and urged the authorities to drop what it considers unfounded charges against them.
In its criticism, Amnesty International also accused the Borno State government and police of increasingly targeting opposition political parties and their supporters through arrests. “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 organization urged.
It further called on the state government and security agencies to respect freedom of expression and uphold the rule of law.
However, the police’s account of the incident deviates from Amnesty’s portrayal. A police document, cited by SaharaReporters, alleges that the suspects intended to cause a breach of public peace at the West End Roundabout in Maiduguri. It cites several sections of the Borno State Penal Code in the allegations against the detainees.
