Amnesty Demands Probe After Borno Commissioner’s “You Will Be Flogged” Threat

MAIDUGURI

Amnesty International Nigeria has called on federal authorities to open a thorough investigation into a viral video allegedly showing Borno State’s Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Sainna Buba, threatening to have political opponents flogged if they refuse to support the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Buba has not been charged with any offence over the remarks, and there has been no public response yet from him or the Borno State Government addressing Amnesty’s allegations directly.

What the video shows

According to Amnesty’s Sunday statement, the remarks were made at a campaign inauguration event organised by a group calling itself the City Boy Movement. In the video, Buba is heard warning the crowd,

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“Whoever shows us a finger, we are ready to cut off his fingers,” before adding, “We are now playing politics. Whoever shows us a finger, we will show him a finger. Whoever dares to show us a finger again, we will break his finger.”

He went on to frame political loyalty in stark terms:

“The government is our government. Those who follow us will enjoy the honey; if you refuse, then you will be flogged.”

Amnesty’s response

Findings by ValidViewNetwork show the rights group did not mince words in its reaction, describing the commissioner’s remarks as “outrageous and unlawful” and insisting that in a functioning democracy, citizens cannot be punished for their political choices.

“His outrageous outburst that those who refused to obey us will be flogged is unlawful,” the group said, adding that Buba was “flagrantly violating the law by threatening political opponents with punishment” for declining to back the ruling party.

Part of a wider pattern in the state

Checks by ValidViewNetwork show this is not Amnesty’s only recent intervention in Borno State’s political climate. Just days earlier, the group condemned the detention of three young men, Salihu Yahaya, Haruna Mohammed and Muhammed Mallum, held by police over a Facebook post questioning how a local council spent over N3.1 billion in federal allocations, a case Amnesty described as “a desperate attempt to undermine accountability” by local authorities, even after the trio were eventually released without charge.

What happens next

With Nigeria’s 2027 general elections drawing closer and political temperatures already rising across several states, Amnesty’s call adds to mounting pressure on federal and state authorities to address what rights groups describe as a broader pattern of intimidation tactics against perceived political opponents.

Whether the Nigerian Police Force or the Borno State Government responds with a formal investigation, as Amnesty has demanded, remains to be seen.