The Presidential Campaign Council of the African Democratic Congress has demanded an explanation from Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum over a viral video purportedly showing him ordering the arrest and detention of people expressing the slogan “Tinubu Must Go.”
The ADC campaign council, in a statement issued by its Director of Strategic Communications, Phrank Shaibu, on Sunday, said the video raised questions about the governor’s position on political expression, particularly because Zulum had recently denied ordering the arrest of people wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan.
The video, which reportedly shows Zulum speaking in Hausa, has circulated on social media. However, Premium Timesreported that it could not independently establish when or where the footage was recorded or determine the full context of the governor’s remarks.
The ADC said Zulum should explain the contents of the video and reconcile the apparent directive with his earlier denial.
The controversy follows the September 25 arrest of five men in Maiduguri who were found with two T-shirts bearing the “Tinubu Must Go” inscription.
The Borno State Police Command said the men were arrested during a routine patrol around the West End Roundabout and faced allegations including criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, disturbance of public peace and thuggery.
Police also said officers recovered 15 wraps of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, 100 tablets suspected to be D5, a shisha pot and a pair of scissors from the suspects. The command maintained that the arrests were not based on the political message on the T-shirts and that the case had been taken to court.
The ADC, however, has disputed the police account, arguing that the men were detained in connection with their participation in the “Tinubu Must Go” campaign.
Zulum subsequently denied ordering the arrest of opposition supporters or people wearing the anti-Tinubu shirts. His spokesman, Dauda Iliya, also accused the ADC campaign council of misrepresenting the governor’s remarks.
In its latest statement, the ADC said political slogans, clothing or calls for a president to leave office should not, by themselves, constitute grounds for arrest.
The opposition campaign council also called on Zulum to withdraw any directive that could be interpreted as targeting peaceful protesters because of their political views and to publicly guarantee that citizens would not be arrested solely for expressing opposition to President Bola Tinubu.
The governor’s latest position, reported on October 5, is that his warnings were directed at criminals and individuals whose activities threaten peace and stability in Borno, rather than people expressing opposition to Tinubu.
The dispute has added to growing political tensions in Borno ahead of the 2027 general elections, with opposition groups questioning the handling of political dissent and security authorities insisting that the suspects arrested in September were being prosecuted over alleged criminal offences.
The matter has therefore produced sharply different accounts from the ADC, the police and the governor’s camp, while the allegations against the five arrested men remain before the courts.