Five men have reportedly been arrested in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, for wearing T-shirts with the inscription, “Tinubu Must Go.”
Amnesty International disclosed the arrests in a statement, identifying the men as Baba Aji Gremami, Mustapha Abba Yemen, Abacha Mohammed Ali, Adam Umar Gubio and Abdulhamid Mohammed.
The human rights organisation condemned the arrests, saying that wearing a T-shirt expressing political opposition does not constitute a crime.
Amnesty maintained that citizens have the right to express political opinions and peacefully oppose political parties or government officials.
The organisation called for the immediate and unconditional release of the five men and urged authorities to abandon any plan to prosecute them on what it described as unfounded charges.
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It also alleged that the Borno State Government and police had increasingly arrested and detained members and supporters of opposition political groups.
Amnesty accused the authorities of using the law to restrict peaceful dissent and called on Governor Babagana Zulum’s administration to respect citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and association.
The organisation further urged the authorities to uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of citizens to express their political views peacefully.
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