Global human rights watchdog Amnesty International has strongly condemned the arrest of five men by security forces in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, for wearing T-shirts with the inscription “Tinubu Must Go,” THENEWSCREDIT reports.

The international rights group, which made this known in a statement made available to THENEWSCREDIT on Tuesday, identified the detained citizens as Baba Aji Gremami, Mustapha Abba Yemen, Abacha Mohammed Ali, Adam Umar Gubio, and Abdulhamid Mohammed.

In its reaction, Amnesty International declared that expressing political opposition is a fundamental human right, maintaining that wearing a T-shirt conveying political dissent does not constitute a crime under Nigerian law.

The organisation demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the five men, while urging the relevant security authorities to drop any purported plans to subject the detainees to a sham trial based on bogus charges.

"The right to show and express political opinion is not exclusive to only one political party," the statement read, adding that the Borno State Government and the police have increasingly relied on repressive arrests and detentions targeting opposition members and their supporters.

Furthermore, the rights group accused the Borno State authorities of weaponising the law to criminalise peaceful dissent, silence political opponents, and systematically evade accountability in the state.

Amnesty International concluded by warning the administration of Governor Babagana Zulum to halt its ongoing crackdown on peaceful dissent, urging the state government to uphold citizens` constitutional rights to freedom of expression and association.