ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- A key mobilizer of the #EndHunger protests in Abuja, Michael ‘Lenin’ Adaramoye, has been reportedly arrested early Monday morning by the State Security Service (SSS).
Adaramoye, the national coordinator of the Youth Rights Campaign, was taken around 2:00 a.m., according to activist and politician Omoyele Sowore.
As at the time of filing this report, the SSS spokesperson Peter Afunanya has not yet confirmed or denied the arrest.
On Sunday, Adaramoye had sharply criticized President Bola Tinubu’s recent broadcast, accusing him of encouraging police brutality against peaceful protesters.
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“Violence and repressions are just attempts to silence and control us, and the propaganda cannot sway or fool us,” Adaramoye said.
He also criticized the president’s delayed response to the #EndBadGovernance protests. “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,” Adaramoye stated at a press conference on Sunday.
Adaramoye further remarked, “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.”
In his statement, Adaramoye urged Nigerians “to come out in large numbers to continue these protests on Monday until our demands are met,” asserting that the government’s “two-pronged approach of violence and propaganda has failed.”