Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have allegedly arrested Micheal Lenin, one of the leaders of the ongoing protest against bad governance and hardship in Nigeria. Lenin was reportedly taken into custody around 2 am on Monday, August 5, 2024 at his residence in the Apo area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The Director of Mobilisation for the Take It Back Movement, Damilare Adenola, informed newsmen about the arrest, stating that Lenin’s house was raided by the DSS. “Lenin has been arrested by the DSS. He was picked up during a raid on his house around 2 am. He was arrested in the presence of his family. We are demanding his immediate and unconditional release,” Adenola said.
Lenin had recently criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s broadcast on Sunday, arguing that the President’s address indicated he was “out of touch with reality in the country.” Lenin expressed disappointment with Tinubu’s response to the #EndBadGovernance protests, noting that the President’s remarks justified state violence against protesters and journalists while dismissing their demands.
“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,” Lenin said.
Lenin called for continued protests, stating, “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,” He said.
