Members of the ‘Tinubu Must Go’ movement in Kano State have accused the police of blocking their access to a venue booked for a meeting aimed at mobilising opposition to President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Abba Hikima, a lawyer and one of the movement’s conveners, made the allegation in a live video posted on his verified Facebook page on Sunday, October 11, 2026, claiming that more than 10 mobile police vehicles had been deployed to the premises.
In the video, uniformed police officers could be seen in the background as Hikima alleged that security operatives were preventing members of the group from entering the private event centre they had paid to use for the gathering.
The incident, according to the lawyer, disrupted the group’s plan to meet and discuss strategies for persuading Nigerians to vote President Tinubu out of office in the 2027 elections.
The movement describes itself as a non-partisan platform established to educate the public and mobilise citizens against the Tinubu administration, which it blames for the economic hardship facing Nigerians.
Addressing the situation, Hikima said the gathering was intended to provide members with an opportunity to exchange ideas and exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
“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 Ahmed Tinubu in Nigeria,” he said.
Hikima disclosed that he had spoken with the Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Bakori, who, according to him, advised him to notify the police about the planned meeting.
He said he assured the commissioner that the gathering would be peaceful and that participants would conduct themselves within the confines of the law.
The lawyer, however, questioned the alleged police action, insisting that the movement had not committed any offence to warrant being denied access to the venue.
“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. It is within the bounds of the law,” he said.
Citing Sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution, Hikima argued that Nigerians were entitled to express their political opinions and assemble peacefully without requiring police permission to hold such meetings.
He further alleged that some of the officers at the scene had indicated that they had no objection to the gathering itself but were opposed to participants wearing clothing bearing the inscription ‘Tinubu Must Go.’
The movement’s convener rejected the alleged objection, maintaining that the slogan represented a form of political expression and that members had the right to communicate their opposition to the president’s administration.
Hikima also referred to a Court of Appeal decision which, he argued, supported his position that citizens did not need to obtain police permission before organising rallies.
He warned that the group would not abandon its campaign and signalled plans for further demonstrations in the coming days.
“The Court of Appeal decision stands. I do not need to inform any security agent to hold my rallies. Next time, we are going to protest; next time we are going to demonstrate; next time we are going to hit the ground,” he said.
As of the time of the video cited by Hikima, the police had yet to publicly respond to the specific allegations contained in his account.
