BY: ABDULKADIR M LAWAN, OCTOBER 01, 2026/ 12:25AM
Amnesty International has faulted the Borno State Police Command over its justification for the arrest of five young men for wear 'Tinubu-Must-Go' T-shirts in Maiduguri.
This comes after the police, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said the men were not arrested for their political views but for thuggery and possession of illicit substances, including Indian hemp and other drugs.
Reacting to the police statement, Amnesty International said the command must end its 'bizarre and desperate attempts' to justify what it described as the unlawful and shocking arrest of the five men.
The organization said the attempt to link the victims to drugs and other crimes is a familiar playbook used to justify political repression and undermine democratic freedom.
It demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the five men, insisting that holding and expressing dissenting political opinion is not a crime.
'People across Borno State are free to support or oppose any political party or candidate without fear of reprisal. In Borno State and beyond, the freedom to freely express political opinions is not constitutionally exclusive to only one political party and its supporters,' Amnesty said.
The rights group argued that the police had earlier accused the five of 'inciting disturbance, breach of public peace and thuggery' and are now linking them to drugs, which it described as a desperate attempt to punish them for their peaceful political activities.
'Clearly, in the absence of any recognizable criminal offence, a new dimension was introduced to nail the five victims of abuse of power,' it said.
Amnesty International called on the Nigeria Police and the Borno State Government to end what it described as arbitrary arrests and detention of political opposition members and reverse the escalating crackdown on civic space.