The Borno State Police Command has arrested and charged five men accused of printing and wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan “Tinubu Must Go” in Maiduguri.
The arrests were confirmed in a First Information Report (FIR) dated September 29, 2026, obtained by Sahara Reporters from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Maiduguri.
The five men were identified as Baba Aji Gremami, 44; Mustapha Abba Yemen, 28; Abbacha Mohammed Ali, 32; Adam Umar Gubio, 21; and Abdulhamid Mohammed, 21.
According to the police document, the men allegedly conspired to print the T-shirts with the clear intention of causing a breach of public peace within the West End Roundabout community in Maiduguri. The police stated that these alleged offences were contrary to Sections 60, 78, 79, and 392 of the Borno State Penal Code, which cover criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, disturbance of public peace, and thuggery.
The FIR specifically detailed the charges against the group in plain terms. “On 25/09/26 at about 1100 hours, you Baba Aji Gremami, male; Mustapha Abba Yemen, male; Abbacha Mohammed Ali, male; Adam Umar Gubio, male and Abdulhamid Mohammed, male, conspired together by printing the same T-shirt with some inscription written ‘Tinubu Must Go’ on it with the intent to cause breach of public peace within West End roundabout community,” the document read.
Following the filing of the charges, the officer in charge directed that the case be formally charged to court. A source who spoke to Sahara Reporters confirmed that the five men were subsequently taken before a magistrate and remanded in a correctional facility pending further legal proceedings.
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The source further alleged that the arrests were not a routine police action. Instead, they reportedly followed a direct directive from the Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, to the state Commissioner of Police, CP Naziru Abdulmajid, to apprehend the men specifically over the printed shirts.
This development comes amid heightened political activity across the state ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections. Governor Zulum recently returned from an official trip to the United States and Canada and immediately launched a massive All Progressives Congress (APC) mobilisation campaign in Borno. The campaign is aimed at rallying grassroots support for President Bola Tinubu and other party candidates in the upcoming polls.
While the “Tinubu Must Go” slogan has featured in various political demonstrations and social media campaigns across Nigeria in recent months, the police FIR in this specific case strictly links the five men’s alleged offence to the physical printing and wearing of the shirts. The document claims their actions were specifically intended to disturb the peace in a public space, rather than being a mere exercise of free speech.
As the men remain in custody, the incident has sparked fresh debates about the limits of free expression and political mobilization in the country. For now, the focus remains on the court proceedings, as the suspects await their next hearing while the state’s political machinery continues to gear up for the 2027 elections.
Promise Idoko is Junior Reporter working with moderncrux He covers global politics and international affairs. Based in Nigeria,
