The police on Sunday barricaded a private event centre in Kano State to prevent members of the ‘Tinubu Must Go’ movement from holding a meeting aimed at mobilising Nigerians to vote President Bola Tinubu out of office in the 2027 general elections.
Key Highlights
- Police barricaded a private event centre in Kano to stop a ‘Tinubu Must Go’ meeting.
- Convener Abba Hikima alleged more than 10 mobile police vehicles were deployed.
- Hikima said the group needs no police permit, citing Sections 35, 39 and 40 of the constitution.
- He alleged an officer objected only to members wearing the movement’s insignia.
- The movement vowed to hold more meetings and demonstrations.
Abba Hikima, a lawyer and one of the movement’s conveners, alleged that more than 10 mobile police vehicles were deployed to the venue, preventing members from accessing the facility they had booked for the gathering.
The incident triggered protests from the group, whose members accused the police of violating their constitutional rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
In a live video posted on his verified Facebook page on Sunday, October 11, 2026, Hikima, wearing a shirt and fez cap bearing the inscription ‘Tinubu Must Go’, condemned the police deployment and vowed that the movement would continue its activities despite the disruption.
“Today, the 11th of October 2026, we gathered here in Kano State in order to exercise our fundamental human rights and to associate freely in order to exchange ideas and educate ourselves on the need to send away the administration of Bola Tinubu in Nigeria,” he said.
The movement describes itself as a non-partisan platform seeking to mobilise Nigerians against Tinubu’s re-election bid, citing the administration’s economic policies and what it describes as worsening hardship across the country.
‘We Are Not Criminals’
Hikima insisted that the gathering is intended to take place peacefully inside a private, enclosed venue and questioned the justification for the police action.
“We are not criminals, we are not thugs, we are not hooligans and we have not committed any offence. And there is nothing wrong with what we are doing right now,” he said.
The lawyer disclosed that Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Bakori, had contacted him on Saturday and advised him to notify the police about the planned meeting.
According to Hikima, he assured the commissioner that the gathering would be peaceful and conducted within the law.
He, however, argued that the group is not required to obtain police permission before holding a meeting, citing Sections 35, 39 and 40 of the constitution, which provide for personal liberty, freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
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Hikima also alleged that one of the police officers at the venue told him the police have no objection to the meeting itself, but that members should not wear clothing bearing the movement’s insignia.
He rejected the alleged restriction, maintaining that wearing branded clothing is part of the group’s right to express its political views.
The movement’s convener further said the group would return to organise more meetings and demonstrations, claiming that a Court of Appeal decision supports its position on public gatherings.
Amid chants of “Tinubu Must Go,” Hikima declared that the police action would not force the group to abandon its campaign.
The incident comes as political mobilisation gathers momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the movement seeking to build opposition to Tinubu’s administration around public dissatisfaction with economic conditions.
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