The Nigerian government brought 10 individuals arrested in connection with the August #EndBadGovernance protests before the Court in Abuja.
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Although the defendants are at liberty to contest the voluntariness of the entire or specific aspects of the statements at trial, the individual handwritten accounts provide rare insights into how the #EndBadGovernance protest was organised and its goal, Mr Wynne’s personality and his roles in the protests, and the extent of the government’s sweep for anyone with even the slightest connection to the protest.
Ms Innocent, who identified Mr Wynne by his other alias, Drew, said she learnt of him for the first time on the first day of the protest when an acquaintance and co-protester identified as Lucky was speaking to the Briton over the phone. Her statement also discussed her involvement in WhatsApp groups related to the #EndBadGovernance protest and human rights issues in Nigerians.
She said the Advocate for a New Nigeria group was not for fighting the government. “It is rather for advocating for a better welfare of citizens,” which Nigerians have been denied “from the inception of our democracy.” Ms Innocent, an HND holder from Anambra State who relocated to Abuja after completing her national youth service in Bauchi State in 2000, insisted she did not mobilise anyone to join the protest. “Not even a single person for this protest,” she stated.
He named various socialism-leaning WhatsApp groups to which he belonged and his interactions with Mr Wynee. “I have no sponsor in the EndBadGovernance protest,” he said, adding, “I was never paid/hired to engage in the EndBadGovernance protest.” Sounding uncowed, Mr Adaramoye asserted, “As a Nigerian, it is my right to protest peacefully.”
He said that before his arrest, he had clarified his stance against foreign intervention in Nigeria in an interview with Solomon Odeniyi of The PUNCH Newspaper. “I responded to him by saying that I am opposed to foreign intervention in Nigeria, and I’m unaware and unconnected to the use of Russian flag by some protesters in Kano. It’s not true that I joined forces with Andrew Wynne Martins, also known as Andrew Povey,” Mr Adaramoye stated.
“I was identified as their target at the point of arrest. I and the other three persons were taken to DSS facility where we were interrogated and later brought to FID/IRT at about 7 p.m. on the same day for investigations,” he added.Adeyemi Abayomi, 34, is the Manager of Mr Wynne’s Abuja-based Iva Valley Bookshop.
His statement also sheds light on Mr Wynne’s socialist activities in Nigeria and his strong ties with the NLC. He described Mr Wynne’s organisation, Socialist Labour, as an affiliate of the NLC. Mr Abayomi said, in addition to serving as Mr Wynne’s driver and bookshop manager, he served as the “protest manager under the umbrella of Socialist Labour.”
A day before the protest, Mr Abayomi said, “Our protest overall boss, Mr Drew Povey,” gave a directive that the march should start from the local areas and go to the central area, the Old Parade Ground, police station, Eagle Square, and then to the Villa. He maintained that “the Socialist Labour is not against the government because the group discusses current matters in the country and how they can be better placed.”
“The bookshop is located on the second floor of the Nigeria Labour Congress building in the Central Business District, Abuja. The same shop was given to Mr Drew Povey for free by the Nigeria Labour Congress. In the bookshop, we sell the following: socialist books, economics books, environmental books, pamphlets, novels and socialist monthly bulletins.“I drive Mr Drew Povey to most offices to sell the monthly socialist bulletins. We both belong to the Nigeria Labour Congress.
The veteran unionist said he obtained a BSc and an MSc in Criminology and Security Studies from the National Open University between 2015 and 2023 and is currently pursuing a PhD in the same area. He mentioned being part of a WhatsApp group called Abuja/Nigeria Protest Operations EndBadGovernance and Reset Nigeria, which he joined at Mr Wynne’s invitation. This group, consisting of 456 members, was organised for a “planned peaceful protest,” he said. Additionally, he was involved in another WhatsApp group, the Socialist Labour Support, which he described as an “NGO that is working-class centric,” also established by Mr Wynne.
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