Drop the charges!
On Friday 8 November, at 5.30 pm, Nigeria Solidarity UK will be protesting outside the Nigerian High Commission at 9 Northumberland Avenue in London. We, along with other campaigners, will be demanding that the charges are dropped against all #EndBadGovernance protesters, who have faced violence, detention and prosecution for daring to protest against the anti-poor policies of the Tinubu government. A recent report said that, on present trends, the number of ‘food insecure’ Nigerians could increase from around 25 million now to over 33 million by the middle of 2025.
The Nigerian government, whose president was elected last year with less than nine million votes in a country of around 230 million, is attempting to intimidate opposition by its widespread use of ‘treason’ and ‘terrorism’ charges.
This was brutally symbolised on Friday 1 November, when a number of children collapsed in court. Among many other detainees, 32 minors aged between 14 and 17 were in court after having been held by the police for 93 days awaiting arraignment, had clearly been ill-treated, and were suffering the effects of malnourishment and possibly torture. This scandal has enraged many Nigerians and attracted worldwide attention via reports in the international media.
On the day of our protest the trial of another group of eleven protesters begins, Adaramoye Michael Lenin and ten others. They are charged with ‘treason’ and ‘terrorism’ because they participated in a peaceful protest in August against hunger and hardship.
We in Nigeria Solidarity UK demand that charges against Adaramoye Michael Lenin and all protesters standing trial be dropped immediately, and all protesters unconditionally released. We also demand a halt to all attacks on democratic rights. Protest is not treason. The Nigerian people and youth have the right to resist the anti-poor capitalist policies of the Tinubu regime.
STOP PRESS
Because of the public outrage at the police brutality against children, their prosecution appears to have been dropped. However, the trial of Michael Lenin and the other defendants is going ahead, and protests are still needed.
