Protest as police stop ‘Tinubu-Must-Go’ meeting in Kano – Daily Trust

The police in Kano State yesterday blocked members of the ‘Tinubu Must Go’ (TMG) motion from accessing the venue of a deliberate meeting, sparking protests by the organisers and condemnation from Amnesty International Nigeria and different stakeholders.

The police blockade in Kano happened two weeks after the arrest and arraignment of 5 males in Maiduguri, Borno State, over using T-shirts bearing the inscription “Tinubu Must Go”, which triggered criticisms from human rights teams and opposition figures.

The males – Baba Aji Gremami, 44; Mustapha Abba Yemen, 28; Abbacha Mohammed Ali, 32; Adam Umar Gubio, 21; and Abdulhamid Mohammed, 21- have been arrested on September 25, 2026, across the West End Roundabout space of Maiduguri.

They have been subsequently arraigned earlier than Chief Magistrate Court I in Maiduguri on prices of prison conspiracy, inciting disturbance, disturbance of public peace and thuggery beneath Sections 60, 78, 79 and 392 of the Borno State Penal Code. They pleaded not responsible to the costs.

The police alleged that the defendants conspired to print and put on the T-shirts with the intention of inflicting a breach of public peace. The command later mentioned officers discovered them with suspected hashish, tablets, a shisha pot and different gadgets throughout a routine patrol. The allegations haven’t been established in court docket.

The arrests drew condemnation from Amnesty International, which described the detention as arbitrary and referred to as for the boys’s launch, arguing that peaceable political expression shouldn’t be criminalised.

Following their arraignment, the defendants’ legal professionals utilized for bail. The court docket subsequently granted bail to the 5 males, in response to reviews printed on October 7. The substantive case has been scheduled for October 26, 2026.

TMG alleges rights violation

Earlier, members of the motion protested the police blockade, alleging that closely armed safety operatives prevented them from accessing a non-public occasion centre that they had paid to make use of.

In a dwell video posted on his verified Facebook web page on Sunday, October 11, Hikima mentioned greater than 10 cellular police autos had been stationed on the venue.

He described the gathering as an train of the group’s constitutional rights to freedom of expression and peaceable meeting, insisting that the organisers weren’t criminals and had no intention of inflicting bother.

“Today, the 11th of October 2026, we gathered here in Kano State in order to exercise our fundamental human rights and to associate freely in order to exchange ideas and educate ourselves on the need to send away the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Nigeria,” Hikima mentioned.

He accused the police of stopping the group from accessing the venue due to its opposition to the president’s administration.

The lawyer argued that the motion was entitled to assemble and trade political views with out acquiring police permission, citing Sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which offer for freedom of expression and peaceable meeting and affiliation, respectively.

Hikima additionally rejected recommendations that the group wanted police approval to carry its meeting, saying the organisers supposed to conduct themselves peacefully and throughout the regulation.

He vowed that the motion would proceed its actions regardless of the incident, together with organising additional demonstrations.

“The Court of Appeal decision stands. I do not need to inform any security agent to hold my rallies. Next time, we are going to protest; next time, we are going to demonstrate,” he mentioned.

Police defend Kano blockade

Meanwhile, the Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, has defended the motion, saying the command was involved about public security and wanted to determine the character of the gathering earlier than offering safety.

In an interview with a web based platform, DCL Hausa, Bakori mentioned he contacted one of many conveners, a lawyer, Abba Hikima, after seeing details about the deliberate meeting on social media.

“I saw it yesterday on social media that they are coming to hold a gathering. I called Barrister Hikima and asked him what was happening. He said it was a gathering they wanted to hold, and I said it was important that we were aware so that we could provide protection,” the commissioner mentioned.

According to him, Hikima disclosed that about 700 individuals have been anticipated to attend the gathering, prompting him to request a postponement to permit each events to debate safety preparations.

“He said 700 people would be coming into the state. I said the number was high and that he should postpone it and come so that we could discuss it. He said he would think about it and get back to me,” Bakori mentioned.

The commissioner alleged that he later tried to achieve Hikima by phone however the lawyer didn’t reply to his calls.

Bakori mentioned the police wanted to know the variety of individuals attending such gatherings and the character of the actions deliberate to make sure enough safety.

“We have to regulate. Who is coming? What type of event is he holding? We need to know,” he mentioned.

He cited a current incident in which the police allegedly intercepted arms from individuals who got here to Sabon Gari in Kano beneath the guise of attending a political gathering.

He mentioned the incident was nonetheless beneath investigation, including that the command couldn’t ignore safety considerations when organisers introduced plans to deliver tons of of individuals into the state.

Bakori, nevertheless, maintained that the police weren’t looking for to forestall the organisers from exercising their rights however needed to make sure the protection of contributors and different residents.

“It’s part of their right to bring people together and do whatever, and nobody will stop them. Legally, it is not compulsory, but we also have a mandate to ensure that nothing goes wrong for or against them,” he mentioned.

He added that dialogue between the organisers and the police may have helped resolve the considerations surrounding the meeting.

“Where someone’s right stops is where another person’s right begins. It’s an easy thing that we will just come and discuss, so that they could be protected also,” the commissioner mentioned.

Amnesty International condemns blockade

Meanwhile, Amnesty International Nigeria condemned the police motion, describing the blockade as an illegal restriction of the group’s rights.

In an announcement, the human rights organisation mentioned closely armed police officers blocked each ends of the highway resulting in the venue of the TMG occasion.

“Amnesty International strongly condemns the unlawful and outrageous blocking of the venue of a ‘Tinubu-Must-Go’ event Today in Kano,” the organisation mentioned.

It urged the Nigeria Police Force to desist from what it described as reckless violations of human rights, stressing that supporters of political candidates and events had the proper to organise peaceable actions.

“The duty of the police is to facilitate peaceful conduct of such political gatherings no matter the political party or candidate being supported or opposed,” the organisation mentioned.

Amnesty International added that freedom of affiliation and peaceable meeting was not unique to any political get together or its supporters.

The organisation additional described the incident as a part of what it referred to as a troubling sample of police repression concentrating on opposition members in completely different elements of the nation.

It warned that repeated assaults and intimidation towards opposition supporters may make it harder for them to affiliate freely and organise public gatherings.

The incident has renewed debate over the steadiness between police accountability for public security and residents’ constitutional rights to peaceable meeting, notably as political actions start to collect momentum forward of the 2027 common elections.

APC utilizing police to suppress dissent – ADC

The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has condemned the Kano State Police Command for disrupting the “Tinubu Must Go” rally in Kano.

While describing the motion as “shameful, unconstitutional and a disturbing descent into authoritarianism”, the marketing campaign council accused the police of violating Nigerians’ elementary rights to peaceable meeting and freedom of expression, as assured by the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

In an announcement on Sunday, Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC marketing campaign, Kola Ologbondiyan, mentioned the rally, led by Barrister Abba Hikima and organised by involved youths, was reportedly disrupted when police operatives barricaded The Avenue Event Centre and allegedly intimidated contributors.

Despite the police motion, the council mentioned the youths demonstrated braveness and dedication by refusing to be silenced and insisting on making their voices heard.

The ADC-PCC expressed outrage over the reported arrest of the proprietor of The Avenue Event Centre for allegedly permitting the ability for use for the gathering, describing the event as one other “troubling indication of the APC-led government’s intolerance of dissent.”

The get together questioned why a enterprise proprietor ought to face arrest for making a facility accessible for a peaceable gathering.

“This is not democracy. This is tyranny. For how long will the APC continue to use the police to suppress dissenting voices?” Ologbondiyan queried.

He described as ironic a scenario in which a authorities that claims to uphold democratic values seems threatened by residents exercising their constitutional rights.

“The message from Kano is loud and clear: Nigerians are tired, hungry and angry. You can stop a rally and arrest a venue owner, but you cannot arrest hunger in the land. You cannot barricade the anger and frustration of over 200 million people,” he mentioned.

Ologbondiyan argued that the federal government’s priorities have been misplaced, insisting that the identical dedication displayed in disrupting the rally ought to as a substitute be directed in direction of tackling insecurity, banditry and the crushing value of dwelling.

“If the APC government had deployed the same energy it used to stop a peaceful rally at The Avenue Event Centre to tackle insecurity, banditry and the excruciating cost of living, Nigeria would be a safer and more prosperous nation,” he added.

The council counseled Barrister Abba Hikima and the youths who participated in the rally for his or her braveness and dedication to talk out regardless of the reported police intimidation.

It additionally referred to as on the Inspector-General of Police and the Kano State Police Command to make sure the fast and unconditional launch of the occasion centre proprietor, if nonetheless in custody, and to desist from actions able to turning the police into an instrument of political oppression.

The ADC-PCC additional urged civil society organisations, human rights teams and the worldwide group to pay shut consideration to what it described as a harmful erosion of democratic freedoms in Nigeria.

“The proper to protest just isn’t a privilege granted by the police or the APC; it’s a proper assured by the Constitution. No quantity of intimidation will stop Nigerians from demanding change.

“The ADC stands firmly with Barrister Abba Hikima, the courageous youths of Kano and every Nigerian who has found the courage to say enough is enough,” the assertion mentioned.