The Borno State Police Command has arrested and charged five men over T-shirts bearing the inscription “Tinubu Must Go” in Maiduguri, according to a First Information Report (FIR) that has drawn condemnation from Amnesty International, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and activist Omoyele Sowore.
The suspects are Baba Aji Gremami, 44; Mustapha Abba Yemen, 28; Abbacha Mohammed Ali, 32; Adam Umar Gubio, 21; and Abdulhamid Mohammed, 21.
The FIR, dated September 29, 2026, was issued by the State Criminal Investigation Department in Maiduguri and addressed to the Chief Magistrate Court. It accuses the men of criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, disturbance of public peace and thuggery, contrary to Sections 60, 78, 79 and 392 of the Borno State Penal Code. It alleges that on September 25 they conspired to print the T-shirts “with the intent to cause breach of public peace” in the West End Roundabout community. A source told SaharaReporters the men were later taken to court and remanded in a correctional facility. The source also alleged that the arrests followed a directive from Governor Babagana Zulum to the Commissioner of Police, CP Naziru Abdulmajid.
Amnesty International condemned the detention as arbitrary and demanded the men’s immediate release. It said wearing a T-shirt with a message of political dissent is not a crime and accused Borno authorities of using the law to criminalise peaceful dissent and target opposition supporters.
Atiku, the ADC presidential candidate, also demanded their release in a statement by Phrank Shaibu. He asked how wearing a shirt became an offence in a democracy and noted that President Bola Tinubu once joined protests against fuel prices under former President Goodluck Jonathan. “‘Tinubu Must Go’ is a demand for political change. It is not a weapon, a threat or a crime,” he said. Atiku urged the authorities to disclose the detainees’ whereabouts and give them access to their families and lawyers.
Speaking on Arise Television, African Action Congress presidential candidate Sowore said criticising the president is not an offence. He said Tinubu himself had said he did not want anyone prosecuted for calling him names, and added that a president who heard of such an arrest should fire his intelligence officer. The arrests come amid heightened political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections. Governor Zulum recently returned from a trip to the United States and Canada and launched an APC mobilisation campaign in Borno in support of Tinubu.
