Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council has demanded a full explanation from Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum over a viral video in which he allegedly ordered the arrest and detention of anyone expressing the slogan “Tinubu Must Go,” saying the footage directly contradicts his recent public denial that he had ordered the arrest of opposition supporters.
In a statement signed by its Director of Strategic Communications, Phrank Shaibu, the ADC PCC said the governor must reconcile the contents of the video with his earlier denial, insisting that Nigerians deserved clarity rather than contradictory messages about whether peaceful critics of President Bola Tinubu faced arrest simply for expressing their political views. “A viral video now circulating, in which Governor Babagana Zulum speaks in Hausa and orders the arrest and detention of anyone caught expressing ‘Tinubu Must Go,’ raises grave questions about his respect for citizens’ democratic rights,” the statement read. “He must explain the fresh video and reconcile its contents with that denial.”
The ADC PCC argued that peaceful political expression was protected under democratic principles, insisting that a political slogan, T-shirt or call for a president to leave office did not, in itself, constitute a criminal offence. “No governor has the authority to criminalise peaceful political opinion,” Shaibu said. “A slogan, a T-shirt or a call for a president to leave office is not, by itself, a crime.” The campaign council warned against using alleged offences unrelated to political expression as a basis for suppressing dissent, urging authorities to present any credible evidence of a separate offence in court and allow due process to take its course rather than using other allegations as a cover to punish citizens for their political views.
The ADC also called on Zulum to withdraw any directive allegedly targeting peaceful protesters and to publicly guarantee that no person would be arrested solely for expressing opposition to President Tinubu. “A government confident in its record answers criticism with evidence and performance—not threats of arrest and detention,” Shaibu said. The group said Borno State must not become a place where citizens are intimidated into silence for criticising the Federal Government, adding, “Borno State is not a political detention centre, and its citizens must not be threatened into silence for opposing President Tinubu.”
The controversy stems from a video circulating on social media in which Zulum, speaking in Hausa, allegedly warns that anyone caught expressing the “Tinubu Must Go” slogan would be arrested and detained. In the clip, the governor appears to reference recent disturbances involving groups wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan, warning that continued inaction could make Maiduguri uninhabitable. “You put it in writing on the singlet. You wear a T-shirt showing a sign of arms and knives. You wear the singlet and move around claiming to belong to a particular group,” Zulum says in the video. He adds, “I swear, if we stand by and watch these things happen without taking actions, this town will not remain habitable if this continues.”
The video’s emergence has created a significant contradiction with Zulum’s statements just days earlier. On Friday, October 2, 2026, the governor told journalists in Maiduguri that he had never ordered the arrest of anybody, including members of opposition parties or those criticising his administration. He said he was shocked when he heard that some people arrested for wearing “Tinubu Must Go” T-shirts were being linked to his government or directive, insisting he was not aware of the arrests. Zulum said his attention was focused on restoring peace and rebuilding Borno after years of Boko Haram insurgency, rather than arresting political opponents. He described only “desperate politicians” as capable of ordering the arrest of opposition supporters, stressing that he was not one of them. He also questioned why he would order the arrest of anyone on political grounds, stating that Borno had remained an APC state for over a decade with no fear of the opposition winning any elective position.
The broader controversy began with the arrest of five men in Maiduguri on September 25, 2026. The men — Baba Aji Gremami, 44; Mustapha Abba Yemen, 28; Abbacha Mohammed Ali, 32; Adam Umar Gubio, 21; and Abdulhamid Mohammed, 21 — were charged with criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, disturbance of public peace and thuggery. According to the First Information Report, the police alleged that the men conspired to print T-shirts bearing the “Tinubu Must Go” inscription to cause a breach of public peace around West End Roundabout in Maiduguri. The Borno State Police Command later issued a detailed clarification, saying officers on a routine township patrol apprehended the suspects and recovered 15 wraps of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, 100 tablets suspected to be D5, one shisha pot, one pair of scissors and two T-shirts bearing the slogan. The police emphasised that the suspects were not arrested solely for their political views and that the decision to charge the matter before a competent court was intended to allow the judicial process to take its course.
The controversy has drawn condemnation from other opposition figures. The Peoples Redemption Party, through its National Chairman, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, condemned the reported arrest of youths wearing anti-Tinubu T-shirts, saying the coalition would take up the matter. The PRP National Publicity Secretary, Muhammed Ishaq, disclosed that the meeting with Atiku Abubakar was a source of inspiration and that opposition leaders were seeking to broaden and strengthen their alliance ahead of the 2027 elections. The ADC PCC had earlier described the arrests as a reckless abuse of power and office, alleging that some state governors were engaged in a race to impress President Tinubu at the expense of the rights and welfare of ordinary citizens.
The controversy comes amid growing political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections, with opposition groups increasingly using rallies, slogans and social media campaigns to mobilise supporters and criticise the Tinubu administration. The ADC PCC said political disagreement should be addressed through democratic engagement rather than threats of arrest and detention. The council’s demand places renewed attention on the handling of political dissent in Borno and the broader question of how security agencies and state authorities will respond to opposition activities as the 2027 elections draw closer. Zulum has not issued a direct response to the ADC’s latest statement, and the police have urged the public to rely on verified information and allow the court to determine the matter based on the facts and evidence presented before it. For now, the viral video and the governor’s denial remain the central points of contention, and Nigerians are waiting for the explanation the ADC has demanded.
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