A British national, Andrew Wynne, also known as Drew Povey, who is wanted by the police, has expressed concerns that the government was unsettled by the EndBadgovernance protests held nationwide.
Wynne criticized the government for suppressing the protesters rather than addressing the demands of the citizens.
He also urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to protect the general public as it had done for its President, Joe Ajaero, when the police summoned him.
In a statement released on Monday titled “Protests, not treason,” Wynne said, “The mass protests over #EndBadGovernance and #EndHunger alarmed the government.
However, instead of addressing the people’s demands, the government resorted to repression. It’s possible that around 40 people were killed by the police and other security forces, thousands were arrested, and many are still in custody.
“In Abuja, the authorities targeted the so-called leaders and organizers of the protests. Ten individuals are facing absurd charges, including treason, mutiny, and waging war against the state.”
Wynne pointed out that the first person arrested by the police, Eleojo Opaluwa, was a former colleague of the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, and the Vice Chairman of the Union in Kogi State.
“The first person arrested was Eleojo Opaluwa. He was a former colleague of Joe Ajaero, working for NUEE, the electricians’ union, as an organizer in Abuja.
He is also the Vice Chair of the NLC in Kogi State. He has been detained for over four weeks without any substantial evidence.
His family was informed that he had received a WhatsApp message from one of the other alleged leaders after his detention,” Wynne stated.
Wynne highlighted that the ten individuals accused of organizing the protests hardly knew each other.
“The ten detainees have been charged with conspiring to commit various serious crimes, but they barely know one another.
Five of them might have been part of a WhatsApp group created to organize the protests in Abuja, but the other five are strangers to these comrades.
They could be some of the flag-waving protesters from Kano added to widen the scope of the organizers to cover the main protests from Sokoto to Maiduguri,” he said.
Wynne noted a disconnect between the police investigating the case and the government.
“There seems to be a disagreement between the government and the police investigating this case.
The head of the Intelligence Response Team informed the detainees’ lawyers that he would have released them, but he had orders from above not to.
As a result, the police have constructed what appears to be a far-fetched case involving the owner of Iva Valley Books,” Wynne said.
He also refuted claims that he had left the country.
“They are alleging that I traveled under the name Andrew Povich, which sounds Russian, and that I have since left Nigeria for Russia.
Neither of these claims is true. Yomi, who works for Iva Valley Books, has been treated inhumanely like the other detainees.
“He was arrested in front of his wife and three-year-old daughter.
The police confiscated all their phones despite his wife’s pleas that they needed one to arrange for food.
He was then illegally imprisoned, chained, beaten, and tortured for three days. His only involvement was designing flyers for the protests.”
Wynne called on the NLC to extend the protection it has provided to its president to the general public.
“The NLC has shown it has the power to protect its President. It must now take action to protect its other officers, members, and the general public,” Wynne stated.
The NLC had previously threatened a general strike to protect Ajaero from arrest and detention on similar charges.
Despite the weak evidence against the detainees, they face long prison sentences unless the trade union movement steps in to protect them.
On August 7, the NLC strongly condemned the human rights violations committed by security forces against peaceful protesters.
