Release detainees, protest is not treason, Briton Andrew Wynne tells Tinubu

Andrew Wynne, also known as Drew Povey, the British national accused of inciting insurrection against President Bola Tinubu’s government, has called on the Nigerian government not to treat protests as acts of treason.

Povey, whom the Nigerian authorities allege has been building “a network of sleeper cells to topple” the Tinubu’s administration and “plunge the nation into chaos,” made this statement in reaction to the charges against him.

Povey’s bookshop, located at the Abuja headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), had been raided and sealed by security forces.

He is accused of enabling some #EndBadGovernance protesters “with intent to destabilise Nigeria.”

In a statement on his bookshop’s letterhead, Povey declared: “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.”

Povey claimed that during these protests, “perhaps 40 people were murdered by the police and other security forces, thousands were arrested, and many still remain in captivity.”

He further noted that ten people face “ridiculous charges including treason, mutiny, and levying war against the state.”

The NLC, according to Povey, promised a general strike to protect its President, Joe Ajaero, from arrest and detention on similar charges.

He criticised the charges as baseless, noting that despite the lack of substantial evidence against the detainees, they still face long years in prison unless the trade union movement steps in to protect them.

Povey said that the first person arrested in the case, Eleojo Opaluwa, had been detained for over four weeks without any tangible evidence.

“His family was told he had received a WhatsApp message from one of the other alleged leaders after he had actually been detained,” Povey added.

He argued that the 10 detainees have been accused of conspiring to commit serious crimes but “barely know each other,” noting that some may have been part of a WhatsApp group set up to organize protests, while others were added to extend the range of organizers.

Povey also claimed a conflict exists between the government and police investigating the 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,” he wrote.

He further stated that the police case against him involved false claims, including that he uses the name Andrew Povich, which he refutes.

Povey alleged that Yomi, an employee of Iva Valley Books, was arrested, tortured, and mistreated despite his only involvement being the design of protest flyers. He called on the NLC to extend protection beyond its President to its other officers, members, and the general public.

The allegations against Povey and the related detentions have sparked controversy, with human rights groups calling for the release of the detained protesters and condemning the government’s response to peaceful protests.

The statement read: “The statement on the letterhead of his bookshop reads: “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 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.”