Comrades Michael Lenin, Babatunde Oluajo aka Sankara (both of DSM), and Sodiq were arrested at night at Sankara’s residence in Abuja by many hooded armed policemen and other security agents. They were blindfolded for over 15 hours before they were allowed to write statements. It was a big problem for their lawyers, comrades & families for days to locate where they were kept and which agency was keeping them in Abuja as they were all denying keeping them. Can you imagine! . That can’t be democracy and its tenets on the arrest and detention of persons in a civil rule.
Sankara and Sodiq never physically participated in EndBadGovernance protest even though they supported all peaceful protests against mass hunger and bad governance. Sankara has been a prominent human right & pro-democracy activist since his students leadership years in UI. Security agencies have his files of non violent, non compromising activism. Why can’t they just invite him/them or wait till morning to invade his residence. Why shooting indiscrinately at night to disturb the peace of the neighborhood like bandits? That nonsense belonged to the despotic military days.
Lenin that participated peacefully by distributing leaflets and granting press interviews never threw a single stone not to talk of destroying any property. His “offence” was his audacity to address a press conference to clarify some issues in response to President Tinubu broadcast on the EndBadGovernance protest. Sankara’s “offence” was to have accommodated Comrade Lenin & Sodiq in his residence.
They were kept incommunicado for days under terrible condition before their lawyer from Femi Falana chambers & volunteer lawyers from coalition of organizations monitoring detention of detainees could locate them in the worst of conditions. That cannot be democratic ethics and rule of law on the detention of suspects.
Comrade Michael Lenin & Sodiq were presently standing trial before the same high court where those young “adult minors or minor adults” walking skeletons were arraigned before Tinubu ordered their release due to mass pressure and global embarrassment. . Among those charged for treason are a NLC zonal officer and a bookshop keeper at NLC secretariat, Abuja. These are not street Almajiri, the flotsam and the jetsam young children abandoned to their fate, to live or die on the streets by the criminal system & corrupt ruling elites.
So it’s not about Almajiris alone but about the dangerous growing intolerance of Tinubu government of pains to any form of protest against escalated economic hardship unleashed daily due to his addiction to IMF – World Bank neo-liberal anti-people, “kill the people to pay your fictitious debts” economic policies.
Coming downsouth, in Lagos for instance, EndBadGovernance protest organizers and protesters led by Comrades Soweto, Juwon, Francis Nwapa & Aisha were subjected to serious beating, torture, sexual harassment, detention for days without trial, damage to their phones, torn clothes, seizure/stealing of their money. Some of them are still receiving treatment in different hospitals after unwarranted torture and molestation by police and government political thugs.
Different forms of cultural & judicial intimidation and ethnic profiling were introduced to stop EndBadGovernance protests against economic hardship. Recently some “Oro courts” were giving strange “no to protest” orders, while some restricted peaceful protesters to a corner of Lagos. Strange! .
Other courts in some states have also copied the Oro courts in Lagos State all in failed attempts to criminalize protests and protesters under a government whose leader and his automated Abobakus, opportunistic appointment seekers, serekode lawyers, had participated in protests before when Tinubu was in “opposition” without any intimidation by previous regimes whose bad economic policies Tinubu rightly condemned and protested against. But unfortunately, he’s now doing worse and unleashing all anti-people IMF – World Bank economic policies he once condemned. That’s a reflection of a deceptive, unprincipled leader without character and integrity.
Those who have commonsense to deeply reflect with public spirited discerning minds should know that it’s not about violent prone street Almajiris again, it’s about a growing maximum civilian dictator that doesn’t want protests in any form despite unleashing hunger, inflation, devaluation of the rolling stone Naira, high cost of living, low purchasing power and insecurity on the masses and the struggling working class while the insensitive leaders continue their extravagant living.
If government continues to beat and torture people economically, it can’t tell them not to cry or how to cry or respond.
Remove all anti-people IMF – World Bank economic policies including “Subsidy is Gone” now.
*Free Michael Lenin totally & other EndBadGovernance protesters. Drop all the treason and other yeye charges now! Protest is the oxygen of democracy.
Treason charge should not be thrown at people anyhow like “pure water”. Over a thousand protesters are in different detention centres charged or about to be charged for Treason, an attempt to overthrow Tinubu government of pains. Haba! That’s very ridiculous and strange.
Good governance is the only guarantee for democracy and any government in power, not indiscriminate detentions, killings, propaganda, Oro courts, , intimidation, blackmail or distributing treason charges to people like “Akara Osu” or “Dodo Ikire”.
Leave a Reply