Amnesty International has rejected the Borno State Police Command’s claim that five men arrested in Maiduguri while wearing “Tinubu Must Go” T-shirts were also found in possession of suspected drugs, demanding their immediate and unconditional release.
The rights organisation made its position known in a statement on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, after the police defended the arrests by saying the suspects were prosecuted over alleged public disturbance, thuggery and possession of drug substances, rather than merely for wearing the political message.
The five men — Baba Aji Gremami, Mustapha Abba Yemen, Abacha Mohammed Ali, Adam Umar Gubio and Abdulhamid Mohammed — were arrested in Maiduguri and subsequently arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court, where they pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
The Borno State Police Command had earlier maintained that it was a professional and non-partisan institution and denied that the arrests were politically motivated.
According to the police, the men allegedly conspired to print and wear T-shirts bearing the inscription “Tinubu Must Go” with the intention of causing a breach of public peace around the West End Roundabout area of Maiduguri. The Command also said suspected drugs were recovered from them.
Amnesty, however, dismissed the drug allegation as an attempt to justify the continued detention of the five men, accusing the police of introducing a new narrative after initially linking the arrests to alleged inciting disturbance, breach of public peace and thuggery.
The organisation called on the Borno State Police Command to end what it described as “bizarre and desperate attempts” to justify the arrests.
Amnesty said linking the men to drugs and other offences amounted to a “familiar playbook” for justifying political repression and undermining democratic freedoms.
“Earlier, police accused the five men for alleged inciting disturbance, breach of public peace, and thuggery, and now linking them to drugs manifests a desperate attempt to punish them for their peaceful political activities,” Amnesty said.
The rights group argued that, in the absence of a recognisable criminal offence arising from the men’s political expression, the additional drug allegation appeared to be another attempt to build a case against them.
Amnesty maintained that citizens in Borno State and across Nigeria have the right to support or oppose political parties and candidates without fear of arrest or reprisal, arguing that freedom of political expression is not constitutionally restricted to supporters of any particular political party.
“The five men must be released immediately and unconditionally. Holding and expressing dissenting political opinion is not a crime,” the organisation said.
The group also called on the Nigeria Police Force and the Borno State Government to end what it described as arbitrary arrests and detention of opposition members and supporters, warning that continued arrests over peaceful political expression could further restrict civic space and freedom of expression in the state.
The five defendants have since been arraigned and pleaded not guilty. Their lawyers applied for bail, with the court expected to rule on the application on October 6, 2026, while the substantive case has been adjourned to October 26, 2026.
The police allegations and Amnesty’s characterisation of the arrests remain contested, with the police maintaining that the suspects face allegations beyond simply wearing the “Tinubu Must Go” T-shirts.
