African Democratic Congress presidential candidate and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on Nigerian authorities to explain the continued detention of Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria and Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, while demanding respect for Nnamdi Kanu’s right to appeal his conviction and the release of five youths facing prosecution in Borno State in connection with “Tinubu Must Go” T-shirts.
Atiku made the demands on Thursday, October 1, 2026, in Abuja, while delivering his State of the Nation Address as Nigeria marked its 66th Independence Anniversary. His remarks formed part of a wider criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration covering the economy, rule of law, insecurity and the treatment of political dissent.
Speaking specifically about the rule of law, Atiku said authorities needed to provide answers concerning the continued detention of Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai.
“On this day, I call for the rule of law to be applied fairly in every case. The continued detention of Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria and Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai raises questions about due process that the authorities must answer,” Atiku said.
Atiku also argued that the two men were not facing murder allegations and said the government should account for the legal basis and circumstances of their continued detention.
His remarks were a political demand directed at the Tinubu administration and should not be interpreted as a judicial determination on the legality of either detention.
Atiku extended his rule-of-law argument to the case of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
Kanu has been convicted, but Atiku said the legal process should continue to guarantee him the right to challenge that conviction through lawful appellate procedures.
“Following Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s conviction, his right to lawful appeal must be respected, while the grievances and divisions surrounding his case must be addressed seriously,” Atiku said.
The former Vice President therefore did not argue in the address that Kanu’s conviction had been overturned.
His position was that Kanu must retain access to the appellate process provided by law and that the wider grievances associated with the case should receive attention.
Atiku also returned to the controversy surrounding five men arrested in Maiduguri, Borno State, after being linked to T-shirts carrying the inscription “Tinubu Must Go.”
“A political slogan on a shirt must never become a reason to imprison a Nigerian,” Atiku said during his Independence Day address.
The five men have been identified as Baba Aji Gremami, Mustapha Abba Yemen, Abacha Mohammed Ali, Adam Umar Gubio and Abdulhamid Mohammed.
According to the Borno State Police Command, they were arrested on September 25, 2026, at about 6:00 p.m., during a routine patrol around West End Roundabout in Maiduguri.
The case has produced sharply conflicting accounts between the police and the ADC.
Court charges reported by PREMIUM TIMES accuse the five men of criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, disturbance of public peace and thuggery.
The charges allege that the defendants conspired to print T-shirts bearing the words “Tinubu Must Go” with the intention of causing a breach of public peace around the West End Roundabout community.
The alleged offences were brought under Sections 60, 78, 79 and 392 of the Borno State Penal Code Law.
The Borno State Police Command has separately maintained that the men were not arrested merely because of the political message printed on their clothing.
Police spokesperson ASP Nahum Kenneth Daso said officers recovered 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 “Tinubu Must Go” T-shirts.
Police said preliminary investigations were conducted and statements obtained before the suspects were charged to court.
The Borno State chapter of the ADC, however, disputes the police version.
State chairman Kolo Bukar said four of those arrested were ADC members and maintained that they had participated in a peaceful political gathering.
He alleged that the group had obtained clearance from the police and Department of State Services before gathering at the ADC secretariat around West End Roundabout.
Bukar also rejected the police allegations concerning drugs and dangerous items, describing the account as false.
Those competing claims have not been resolved by a court, and the defendants have not been convicted of the allegations against them.
Atiku had already called for their release in a statement issued on Wednesday, September 30, through Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council.
He repeated that position during his October 1 State of the Nation Address.
In the earlier statement, Atiku argued that political disagreement with a sitting president should not itself be treated as a criminal act.
“‘Tinubu Must Go’ is a demand for political change. It is not a weapon, a threat or a crime,” Atiku said.
“President Tinubu can disagree with those words. He can campaign against them.”
Atiku also drew a comparison between the current controversy and President Tinubu’s activities while he was an opposition political figure during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
He referred specifically to Tinubu's opposition to fuel-pricing policies during that period and argued that Nigerians should retain the same ability to criticise government policies.
“Tinubu was free to tell Jonathan that his policies were hurting Nigerians. Nigerians must be free to tell Tinubu that his policies are hurting them,” Atiku said.
Amnesty International has also criticised the detention and prosecution of the five men.
The rights organisation said political dissent expressed through a T-shirt should not itself constitute a criminal offence and called for their release.
The police, however, maintain that the arrests involved alleged conduct beyond the political inscription on the shirts and have said the judicial process should determine the allegations.
Atiku’s October 1 comments on the detainees formed part of a broader address in which he criticised the Tinubu administration’s economic and governance record.
The former Vice President accused the administration of worsening poverty and hardship since taking office in 2023 and challenged the government over public debt, social intervention spending and the cost of living. These are Atiku’s political assessments and claims, which the Tinubu administration disputes through its own account of economic performance.
President Tinubu, in his own October 1 Independence Day address, presented a different assessment of Nigeria's position.
Tinubu said his administration inherited deep economic problems and had taken difficult decisions to address structural weaknesses.
He maintained that reforms had strengthened the foundations of the economy and declared that Nigeria was moving from what he called the period of reform toward an “age of prosperity.”
Against that political disagreement, Atiku used his own Independence Day address to place particular emphasis on what he described as the need for equal application of the rule of law.
His demands covered three distinct cases.
For Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria and Nasir El-Rufai, Atiku demanded answers concerning their continued detention and due process.
For Nnamdi Kanu, he called for respect for his lawful right of appeal following his conviction and urged authorities to address the grievances and divisions surrounding his case.
For the five Borno defendants, Atiku called for their release and maintained that a political slogan on a T-shirt should not result in imprisonment.
The Borno case, however, remains before the courts, with police alleging offences beyond merely wearing the shirts and the ADC disputing the police account.
Atiku's central message on October 1 was that, irrespective of political affiliation or the nature of criticism directed at the government, Nigeria’s laws and constitutional protections should be applied consistently.
“On this day, I call for the rule of law to be applied fairly in every case,” he said.
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