*Rights Group Urges Their Release
*Briton Accused Of Plot Against Tinubu Speaks, Says Protest Not Treason
FOLLOWING their arraignment by the Federal Government on Monday, September 2, over alleged treason, mutiny and intent to destabilise Nigeria, 10 #EndBadGovernance protesters were ordered to be remanded in prison by Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court, Abuja.
Justice Nwite remanded the nine male protesters in the Kuje Prison, and the female protester in Suleja Prison.
The court also fixed Wednesday, September 11, for trial and ruling on the protesters’ bail applications.
The 10 protesters are Michael Adaramoye, also known as Lenin; Adeyemi Abayomi; Suleiman Yakubu; Opaoluwa Simon; Angel Innocent; Buhari Lawal; Mosiu Sadiq; Bashir Bello; Nurudeen Khamis and Abdulsalam Zubairu.
The defendants, who were arraigned on six counts of alleged treason, intent to destabilise Nigeria, conspiracy to commit felony and inciting to mutiny, as well as levying war against the state to intimidate President Bola Tinubu by attacking and injuring Police officers and burning Police stations, government buildings and private buildings, which are punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code, all pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to them.
Part of the charges against them was that they collaborated with 70-year-old Briton, Mr. Andrew Wynne, “with intent to destabilize Nigeria, called on the military to take over the government from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
But Wynne, who has been accused by Nigerian Police Force (NPF) of inciting insurrection against the President, and declared wanted, alongside another Nigerian, in his reaction, urged the Federal Government not to treat protests as treason, but rather address the protesters’ demands.
Recall that the Police had, shortly after the nationwide protests, raided and sealed Wynne’s bookshop located at the national secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), otherwise known as Labour House.
The Force had also invited NLC President, Joe Ajaero, to its Intelligence Response Team (IRT) unit in the federal capital, and later, with the Secretary General, Ugboaja, to Force headquarters for questioning in connection with the protests and Wayne.
However, Wynne, while reacting to Police’s allegation that he was building a network of sleeper cells to topple the current administration, in a statement written on the letterhead of his bookshop, asked the government to release the detainees.
He wrote: “PROTEST IS NOT TREASON- release all the detainees! The mass protests over #EndBadGovernance and #EndHunger frightened the government.
“But rather than addressing the peoples’ demands, the government turned to repression. Perhaps 40 people were murdered by the police and other the security forces, thousands were arrested and many still remain in captivity.
“In Abuja, the authorities have attacked the so called leaders and organisers of the protests. Ten people face ridiculous charges including treason, mutiny and levying war against the state.
“The NLC promised a general strike to protect its President, Joe Ajaero, from arrest and detention in relation to similar charges. Despite the flimsy nature of the evidence against the detainees, they face long years in prison unless the trade union movement is prepared to protect them.
“On 7th August the NLC said it, “condemns in the strongest terms the human rights violations perpetrated by security forces against peaceful protesters.” The first person to be arrested, in this case, was Eleojo Opaluwa.
“He is a former colleague of Joe Ajaero, working for NUEE, the electricians union, as an organiser in Abuja. He is also the Vice Chair of the NLC in Kogi State. He has now been detained for over 4 weeks with no tangible evidence.
“His family was told that he had received a WhatsApp message from one of the other alleged leaders. This was after Eleojo had actually been detained. The ten detainees have been accused of conspiracy to commit a range of serious crimes.
“However, they barely know each other. Five of them may have been members of a WhatsApp group set up to organise the protests in Abuja. But the other five are unknown to these comrades.
“They may be a few of the flag waving protesters from Kano who were added to extend the range of the organizers to cover the main protests from Sokoto to Maiduguri There appears to be a conflict between the government and the police investigating this case.
“The head of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) told the detainees’ lawyers that he would have released them, but that he had orders from above not to set them free. So the police have developed what appears to be a ridiculous case involving the owner of Iva Valley Books.
“They are claiming that he goes under the name of Andrew Povich, a Russian sounding name, and that he has now left Nigeria for Russia. Neither of these claims are true. Yomi, who works for Iva Valley Books, has, like the other detainees, been treated in a terribly inhumane manner.
“He was arrested in front of his wife and three-year old daughter. All their phones were confiscated by the police. This was despite appeals from his wife that they needed a phone to get money for food. He was then imprisoned illegally and held in chains, beaten and tortured for three days.
“His only involvement was to design flyers for the protests on the instructions of his boss. The NLC has shown that it has the power to protect its President. It now needs to extend this action to protect its other officers, its members and the general public.”
Meanwhile, a human rights group, Coalition for Democratic Accountability and Electoral Reforms (CODER), has written an open letter to the President, expressing deep concern over the detention and trial of prisoners of conscience, journalists and protesters in Nigeria, who had only been peacefully advocating for an end to bad governance and seeking a more just and equitable society.
CODER, therefore, demanded the immediate release of the detainees and dropping of all charges against them, even as it called on the Tinubu administration to address the systemic issues that led to their protests, including corruption.
According to the group: “We, as concerned citizens of Nigeria, write to express our outrage and deep concern about the unjust detention and the unfair trial of prisoners of conscience, journalists and protesters who have been peacefully
advocating for an end to bad governance and seeking a better Nigeria for all citizens.
“Their detention is a blatant violation of their fundamental human rights and a clear attempt to silence dissenting voices.
“It is unacceptable that your administration continues to trample on the rights of citizens who are demanding a more just and equitable society.”
CODER added: “We demand that you take immediate action to release these detainees and drop all charges against them. We also call on your administration to address the systemic issues that led to their protests, including corruption, inequality and social injustice.
“The continued detention of these individuals is a stain on Nigeria’s democracy and a betrayal of the trust placed in Government as source of sincere representation.
“We expect a more robust response to these grievances and a commitment to upholding the rights of all citizens. The right to protest is a fundamental human right recognised under
various international and regional instruments, United Nations Charter (Article 20) recognises the right to peaceful assembly and association, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 21): protects the right to peaceful assembly.
“African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Article 11) recognises the right to freedom of assembly and association and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Section 40) guarantees the right to peaceful assembly and association and also the combine reading of section 39 and 41.
“These instruments acknowledge the importance of protest as a means of expressing grievances, promoting accountability and advocating for change.
“From all indications, your administration has failed to respect these principles and authorities in the engagement with peaceful protesters.
“Don’t forget that you were once in their shoes as a young protester who wanted a better country or was it all a pretense to power, like fake it till you make it?”
