The Borno State Police Command has explained that the five men arrested in Maiduguri over T-shirts bearing the inscription “Tinubu Must Go” were not detained solely for wearing the political message.

The Command said the suspects were arrested on September 25, 2026, during a routine township patrol around the West End Roundabout area of Maiduguri at about 6pm.

According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Nahum Daso, the suspects were allegedly found with 15 wraps of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, 100 tablets suspected to be D5, a shisha pot, a pair of scissors and two T-shirts bearing the inscription “Tinubu Must Go.”

The police said the suspects were taken through preliminary investigation, during which statements were obtained from them, before the case was subsequently taken to court.

The Command said the allegations against the men included inciting disturbance, breach of public peace, thuggery and possession of suspected drug substances, stressing that the T-shirts were among the items recovered from them.

The five suspects had earlier been identified as Baba Aji Gremami, Mustapha Abba Yemen, Abbacha Mohammed Ali, Adam Umar Gubio and Abdulhamid Mohammed. They were reportedly arraigned and remanded following charges including criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, disturbance of public peace and thuggery under relevant provisions of the Borno State Penal Code.

The arrests had generated reactions from civil society organisations and opposition figures. Amnesty International condemned the arrests and argued that peaceful political expression through clothing should not constitute a criminal offence, while former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also called for the men's release.

These are the respective positions of those parties, rather than findings of the court.

However, the Borno Police Command maintained that the Nigeria Police Force is a professional and non-partisan institution which does not discriminate against citizens based on political affiliation or viewpoint.

The Command said its decision to charge the suspects was intended to allow a competent court to determine the matter based on the facts and evidence presented.

It urged members of the public to rely on verified information and allow the judicial process to run its course.