Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested Micheal Lenin, one of the leaders of the ongoing Endbadgovernance protests in the Federal Capital Territory. Lenin was taken into custody around 2 am on Monday at his residence in the Apo area of the FCT.
According to Damilare Adenola, Director of Mobilisation for the Take It Back Movement, the DSS conducted a raid on Lenin’s home. Adenola also alleged that Lenin was assaulted by the DSS during the arrest.
Adenola said, “ Lenin has been arrested by the DSS. He was picked up during a raid on his house around 2 am.
“He was arrested and tortured in the presence of his family. We are demanding his immediate and unconditional release.“
The DSS spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, could not be reached for comment at the time of this report and has yet to respond to a message sent.
Micheal Lenin, the National Coordinator of the Youth Rights Campaign, was a key organizer who spoke at a recent press briefing. During the briefing, Lenin expressed his disappointment with President Bola Tinubu’s broadcast on Sunday, stating that the President’s address demonstrated a disconnect from the realities faced by people in the country.
He said, “We wish to express our sadness and deep disappointment at the latest broadcast by President Tinubu which is his first address to the nation on the #EndBadGovernance protests, after over three weeks since Nigerians started mobilizing to take to the streets and after scores of dead protesters and assaulted journalists from the first three days of the protests.
“Many had requested that the President should just address the nation when the protest was being mobilized and when it started to escalate, but most of us did not know that the President would only justify state violence on protesters and journalists while dismissing the demands of the protesters whenever he decides to speak.
“This, plus the failed attempt to co-opt the progressive and radical language of the protests only shows how much President Tinubu is out of touch with the masses.“
Lenin, however, said the protest would continue massively on Monday, calling on the citizens to come out in large numbers.
He said, “We, therefore, call on Nigerians to come out in large numbers to continue these protests on Monday until our demands are met. The two-pronged approach of violence and propaganda has failed.
“The violence and repressions are just attempts to silence and control us, and the propaganda cannot sway or fool us.”
