Activist Urges NBA, NJC To Probe Borno Governor Zulum Over Five-Year Jail Sentence For Tricycle Riders
Human rights activist, Francis Nwapa, has called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the National Judicial Council (NJC) to urgently intervene in what he described as the misuse of the judiciary by Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, to silence dissenting voices.
In a post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Friday, Nwapa condemned the sentencing of tricycle operators to five years’ imprisonment for mobilising a protest against bad governance in the state.
On Thursday, SaharaReporters reported that GovernorZulum had been accused of orchestrating the arrest and conviction of two members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and tricycle operators for creating a WhatsApp group to mobilise a protest against his administration.
Crack police operatives carried out the arrests in Maiduguri before the scheduled #EndBadGovernance protest.
The two men, identified as Mohammed Bukar (alias Awana) and Ibrahim Mohammed (alias Babayo), were convicted on June 30, 2025, by Hon. Justice A.M. Ali and handed a five-year prison sentence.
Court documents with reference number BOHC/MG/CR/2150/CT10/2024 revealed that the men were accused of creating a WhatsApp group called “Zanga Zanga Group”—translated as Protest Group—to mobilise Keke Napep (tricycle) operators for a planned demonstration against the Borno State Government.
Mohammed Bukar and Ibrahim Mohammed were the 6th and 7th defendants in the case in which Governor Zulum accused them of using videos on the WhatsApp group to instigate Keke Napep (tricycle) operators in Borno State to join the protest against the government.
On June 30, 2025, Justice Ali sentenced the duo to five years’ imprisonment for allegedly planning the protest on WhatsApp.
Reacting to the development, Nwapa said, “The Nigerian Bar Association and the NJC should, as a matter of urgency, address the use of the court by Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, to stifle dissent.
“The rationale behind Justice A.M Ali in sentencing young people mobilising for protest against Bad Governance and high-handedness of those in authority to 5 years imprisonment should be made known to the ‘laymen.’”
“If this injustice is not quickly addressed, the integrity of the judiciary will [be] buried under the lawlessness exhibited in Borno State under Governor Zulum,” Nwapa warned.
Nwapa further argued that the right to peaceful protest is recognised under both Nigerian law and international treaties to which the country is a signatory.
“Protest is never a crime under Nigerian laws or international treaties to which Nigeria is a signatory,” he added.
