DSS arrests hunger protest leader in Abuja

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11 months ago

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested Micheal Lenin, one of the leaders of the ongoing hunger protests in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Lenin was apprehended around 2 am on Monday at his residence in the Apo area of the FCT.

Damilare Adenola, Director of Mobilisation for the Take It Back Movement, reported to Punch that Lenin’s house was raided by the DSS, and Lenin was allegedly assaulted during the arrest.

Adenola stated, “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.”

Attempts to reach the DSS spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, for comments have been unsuccessful, and he has yet to respond to messages sent to him.

Lenin, who serves as the National Coordinator of the Youth Rights Campaign, was one of the organisers who recently spoke at a press briefing, expressing disappointment with President Bola Tinubu’s broadcast on Sunday.

At the briefing, Lenin criticised the president’s address, stating that it demonstrated that he was out of touch with the reality in the country.

Lenin commented, “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 mobilising 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 mobilised 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.”

Despite his arrest, Lenin called for the continuation of the protests, urging citizens to come out in large numbers on Monday.

He asserted, “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.”

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