Activists who wore 'Buhari Must Go' T-Shirts to church jailed

Five activists who wore T-Shirts emblazoned with the words #BuhariMustGo to the Dunamis International Gospel Centre in Abuja on Sunday, July 4, are still in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).

Reports say the activists were whisked away in a van and on two motorbikes by operatives of the DSS; who were summoned to the church by Senior Pastor Paul Enenche.

They haven't been allowed access to their lawyers or relatives since their arrest.

The church has however denied any involvement in the arrest of the activists.

"I just left the headquarters of the DSS in Abuja. I requested access to the five activists arrested on Sunday at Dunamis Gospel for wearing Buhari must go T-Shirts to the church. I was not given access to them.

"We have a long way to go as a country," human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, laments.

He adds that: "We have to decide whether to live in a democratic country or under dictatorship. The Church has no business discriminating against people based on their political views. If those activists wore T-shirts with the inscription 'Buhari beyond 2023', would they have been arrested?

"It is more troubling that those arrested were handed over to the DSS. How did we get so low as a country? The civic space is shrinking by the day. Buhari will eventually leave that position but the damage that has been done to our country and civic space will persist after him."