Amnesty International has condemned the arrest and detention of five men in Maiduguri, Borno State, over their alleged involvement in wearing T-shirts bearing the inscription, “Tinubu Must Go.”
The five men were identified as Baba Aji Gremami, Mustapha Abba Yemen, Abacha Mohammed Ali, Adam Umar Gubio and Abdulhamid Mohammed.
According to Amnesty, the men were arrested and charged after allegedly printing and wearing the T-shirts. They were accused of criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance of public peace and thuggery.
Amnesty International described the detention as arbitrary and said expressing political opposition through a message on clothing should not, in itself, constitute a criminal offence.
“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,” the organisation said.
It added that political opposition and the expression of political views were part of fundamental human rights.
“The right to show and express political opinion is not exclusive to only one political party,” Amnesty said.
The organisation called on the authorities to immediately release the five men and abandon what it described as any attempt to prosecute them on what it considers unfounded charges.
Amnesty further accused the Borno State authorities and police of increasingly targeting opposition political parties and their supporters through arrests and detention.
“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 organisation said.
It urged the state government and security agencies to uphold freedom of expression and association and ensure respect for the rule of law.
The police allegations, however, differ from Amnesty’s characterisation of the incident.
The police document cited by SaharaReporters says the suspects allegedly intended to cause a breach of public peace around West End Roundabout in Maiduguri and cites Sections 60, 78, 79 and 392 of the Borno State Penal Code.
