Borno CSOs, Rights Lawyer Fault Detention of Five Men Over 'Tinubu Must Go' Shirts
Five men arrested in Maiduguri for wearing T-shirts inscribed "Tinubu Must Go" have drawn condemnation from civil society organisations in Borno State and from human rights advocates, who contend that the detention punishes peaceful expression and curtails free speech.
In a Maiduguri interview, Abubakar Abdullahi Suleiman, executive director of the Network of Civil Society Organisations, Borno State (NECSOB), maintained that Nigerian law does not treat the display of a political message on clothing as an offence. He cited section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which he said protects the liberty of citizens to hold views and to voice them without being intimidated or taken into custody.
Suleiman called the arrests regrettable. According to him, however sharply worded a political inscription may be, putting it on a T-shirt remains an exercise of lawful, peaceful self-expression. He argued that in a democracy no offence is committed by such conduct, provided public order is not disturbed and no law is breached in a way that creates a threat.
He urged that the matter be handled with due process and that the fundamental rights of every citizen be respected, appealing to security agencies to show restraint. Disagreements, he said, ought to be pursued through lawful and established channels rather than by turning peaceful expression into a criminal matter. He added that the organisations would keep pressing for the defence of democracy and for constructive engagement between citizens and the state.
Similarly, human rights lawyer Alkali Adamu Askira faulted the arrest and detention of the five men in Maiduguri over the anti-Tinubu shirts. He characterised the police action as an ambush on democracy and a gross breach of fundamental human rights.
Writing on Facebook, Askira, who is from Borno but based in Abuja, asked how former Boko Haram commanders and terrorists accused of raping and killing innocent people and destroying lives and property could receive pardons, while citizens who merely express a political choice or will are seized, prosecuted and kept behind bars.
The lawyer urged the Borno State government to direct its Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice to secure the release of the detained men, should the government not be involved in the arrests.
The Borno Police Command is reported to have picked up the five men in the West End area of Maiduguri over the T-shirts, taken them to court and had them remanded in prison. A police document alleges that the men conspired to print the shirts bearing "Tinubu Must Go" with the aim of disturbing public peace around the West End Roundabout community.
The five were named as Baba Aji Gremami, 44; Mustapha Abba Yemen, 28; Abbacha Mohammed Ali, 32; Adam Umar Gubio, 21; and Abdulhamid Mohammed, 21.
Askira went further, announcing that he has set aside his "One Time President" (OTP) movement and thrown in his lot with the "Tinubu Must Go" movement, daring anyone to arrest him as was done to the five. He branded the arrests a disgrace and an ambush on democracy, saying the episode evokes a regime like that of Egypt's Pharaoh.
Recounting the moment he learnt of the case, he said he had just returned to his office after a full day in court and more than five hours offline, and on opening WhatsApp found many messages from worried Borno indigenes. He said it was shameful that force would be used against a person simply for wearing a "Tinubu Must Go" T-shirt or expressing a political view, calling it an ambush on democracy.
He contrasted the treatment of the five with the pardons granted to Boko Haram commanders and terrorists, whom he accused of raping and murdering people and destroying lives and property, while citizens who voice a political view are forcibly arrested, sent to court and detained. He said the government and the police colluded against those who spoke up with the words "Tinubu Must Go", describing it as a shame.
Askira declared he was dropping the OTP movement that day and fully joining the "Tinubu Must Go" movement, vowing the T-shirt would be worn and challenging anyone who can arrest them to do so. He repeated that the situation was shameful and likened it to Pharaoh's rule, complaining that the children of the poor are rounded up and sent to prison. He called it a sad day for democracy and appealed to the Borno State Governor to instruct the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice to ensure the five detained men leave prison, if the governor had no hand in the arrests.
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