The Yobe State coordinator of the Take-It-Back Movement (TIB), Abubakar Jawa, was arrested on Monday along with four others while they were gathering for a planned protest against the controversial Cybercrime Act.
The protest, organized by TIB, aimed to raise awareness about the negative effects of the law. Those arrested alongside Jawa include Mohammed Kayeri Adam, Suleiman A. Gambo, Maimuna Abba, and another individual also named Abubakar Jawa.
The exact reason for their arrest remains unclear, but the incident has drawn widespread attention in the state.
The group was apprehended at a location where they planned to kick off the protest.
However, when contacted, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Dungus Abdulkarim, denied that the police had arrested any protesters or TIB members.
He said the police were open to working with protest organizers and even offered security support, but no TIB member had come forward.
“As far as the police are concerned, we don’t know any TIB coordinators or members in the state. Our doors are open for them to come forward so we can provide security support for their protest, but no one has come forward. So, no TIB member has been arrested,” he said.