‘Come and Arrest Me If You Dare’ — Borno Lawyer Joins ‘Tinubu Must Go’ Campaign After Five Youths Remanded

By Our Reporter

Prominent Borno-based lawyer and activist, Barrister Alkali Adamu Askira, has declared his support for the “Tinubu Must Go” campaign, challenging security agencies to arrest him following the remand of five youths accused of wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan.

Askira made the declaration in a video posted on his verified Facebook page on Tuesday night, September 29, 2026, saying the incident had prompted him to abandon his One-Time President (OTP) movement and join the campaign.

The lawyer said he had been offline for about five hours after spending the day in court before returning to messages from concerned Borno residents about the arrests.

Describing the incident as an attack on democratic expression, Askira said:

“It is really a sad day for democracy in Borno again. It is shameful that just because a person wore a ‘Tinubu Must Go’ T-shirt, or stood up to express his opinion, state power was used to rush them to a correctional facility.”

He added: “This is shameful, condemnable, and an ambush to democracy.”

The five youths — Baba Aji Gremami, Mustapha Abba Yemen, Abacha Mohammed Ali, Adam Umar Gubio and Abdulhamid Mohammed — were reportedly arrested at West End Roundabout in Maiduguri and subsequently remanded in prison custody over the T-shirts they were wearing.

Askira also drew a comparison between the treatment of the youths and the government’s handling of repentant insurgents in Borno.

“In this same Borno State, Boko Haram commanders who committed rape, murder, rampaging society, burnt towns and displaced people are being granted amnesty. Yet, a citizen who merely stands up to say ‘Tinubu Must Go’ gets targeted.”

He further criticised what he described as the collaboration between government officials, the police and the judiciary in the case.

“Government and police collaborate to take them before judges, and judges send them to prison. It is indeed a shame to all of you,” he said.

The activist subsequently announced that his One-Time President movement would be folded into the “Tinubu Must Go” campaign, signalling a change in his political activism.

“I hereby declare today, I am stepping down my One-Time President, OTP, movement. I have fully joined ‘Tinubu Must Go’,” Askira declared.

He vowed to continue publicly displaying the slogan despite the arrests.

“We will wear the shirt, we will sit with the shirt on, and if anyone thinks they are powerful enough, let them come and arrest us,” he said.

The development comes amid heightened debate over the limits of political expression, protest and dissent in Nigeria, particularly where criticism of elected officials is involved.

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