Kano Police Explain Blockade of ‘Tinubu Must Go’ Meeting

The Kano State Police Command has explained why it stopped a planned meeting of the “Tinubu Must Go” movement, citing security concerns, uncertainty over the expected participants and the need to prevent a possible breakdown of law and order.

The state Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, said the command intervened because it did not have sufficient information about the gathering, which organisers expected to attract about 700 people.

Bakori, speaking in an interview with DCL Hausa, acknowledged that the organisers had the right to assemble but maintained that notifying the police would have helped the command make arrangements to protect participants and residents.

His explanation followed complaints by Abba Hikima, a lawyer and one of the movement’s conveners, who accused police officers of preventing members from accessing a privately hired venue in Kano on Sunday, October 11, 2026.

Hikima alleged in a live video posted on his verified Facebook page that about 10 Mobile Police vehicles had been deployed around the event centre to stop the gathering from taking place.

The convener said the group had paid for the venue and intended to hold a peaceful meeting to discuss its campaign against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He argued that the gathering was protected by the constitutional rights to personal liberty, freedom of expression and freedom of association.

READ ALSO:

• Xenophobia: Nigeria Evacuates 111 More Citizens From South Africa as Returnees Hit 2,037
• Russia-Ukraine Truce in Doubt as Zelenskyy Questions Trump’s Ceasefire Announcement
• Djibouti Boat Disaster: 139 Migrants Dead, Dozens Missing

According to Hikima, Bakori contacted him on Saturday to discuss the planned meeting and advised him to inform the police about the gathering. He said he explained that the event would take place in an enclosed venue and would be peaceful.

The lawyer insisted that the movement did not require police permission to hold its meeting, adding that the group would continue its activities despite the intervention.

Bakori, however, said he contacted Hikima after learning about the planned gathering on social media and asked him to postpone the programme and meet with the command to discuss its arrangements.

The commissioner said Hikima indicated that he would consult other members of the movement but did not subsequently respond to his calls.

Bakori explained that the anticipated attendance of about 700 people made it necessary for the police to understand the arrangements, including the identities of participants and where visitors would stay.

He also referred to an incident in Sabon Gari about two weeks earlier, when police reportedly recovered weapons from some individuals who claimed to have travelled to Kano for political activities. He said arrests had been made and the matter remained under investigation.

The commissioner cited the incident as part of the security concerns informing the command’s response to another large gathering whose arrangements, he said, had not been established.

He denied that the intervention was politically motivated, insisting that the police were concerned about protecting the organisers, other participants and residents of Kano State.

Bakori added that the command had previously provided security for activities organised by Hikima when the police were informed in advance.

The movement, however, maintained that its meeting was a lawful exercise of civic rights. Hikima accused the police of obstructing the gathering and said the group would return to hold meetings, protests and demonstrations.

He also alleged that an officer had objected to participants wearing clothing bearing the “Tinubu Must Go” inscription, although the commissioner’s reported explanation focused on security arrangements and the need for information about the event.

The movement describes itself as a non-partisan platform seeking to mobilise Nigerians to vote Tinubu out of office in 2027. Its campaign is based on opposition to the administration’s policies, which its members blame for worsening economic hardship.

The confrontation has raised questions about the balance between the police’s responsibility to maintain public order and citizens’ constitutional rights to peaceful assembly and political expression.

While the police commissioner said advance communication would have enabled the command to provide security, Hikima maintained that the group did not need police permission to convene a peaceful meeting.

The disagreement over the blockade and the conditions under which the gathering could proceed remained unresolved in the reports available on Sunday.

The police said its intervention was intended to prevent security problems, while the movement insisted that it had a right to meet and express its political views without obstruction.