The ‘Tinubu Must Go’ movement has accused the Nigeria Police Force of suppressing its constitutional right to peaceful assembly after operatives barricaded the venue of its planned campaign in Kano State.
The conveners, protesting the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, reported that over ten mobile police vehicles were deployed to seal off the private facility.
The heavy security presence prevented members of the group from accessing the premises to hold their scheduled enlightenment campaign ahead of the 2027 general elections.
A lawyer and co-convener of the movement, Abba Hikima, condemned the police action during a live broadcast on his official Facebook page, stressing that the group consists of law-abiding citizens.
“They have been stationed here in order to prevent us from accessing the private venue which we paid for; we are to gather here to exercise our civic rights. This is even the more reason why Tinubu must go,” Hikima stated.
The convener disclosed that the Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Bakori, had previously contacted him to request formal notification of the event. However, the legal practitioner insisted that Sections 39 and 40 of the Constitution, alongside the existing Court of Appeal judgments, guarantee citizens the right to peaceful assembly without prior police permission.
“The provision of the law is clear that you no longer need police permission to have any gathering. The way you do it in your weddings is the way we have the right to gather here in this event centre and hold this programme,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Kano State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, had not responded to official inquiries regarding the deployment of armed operatives to the venue.
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