Nigeria: Five Protest Leaders Arrested Ahead of Nationwide Demonstration
A coalition of Nigerian movements, the Nigeria Patriotic Front Movement (NPFM), has alleged the arrest of five of its leaders in Kano State, just days before a planned nationwide protest. The arrests have sparked concerns about political repression in the country.
According to a statement signed by Comrade Al-Amin on behalf of the Secretariat, the arrested leaders include Comrade Abdulmajid Daudu, Barrister Yusha’u Sani Yankuzo, Barrister Amina Bello, Comrade Sani NaRogo, Comrade Anas, and Comrade Abdullahi. The coalition claims that the police took the leaders to Abuja under the instructions of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
Comrade Abdulmajid Daudu, one of the arrested leaders, was last seen leaving his office on Monday afternoon to attend a meeting with the Kano State Commissioner of Police. He was accompanied by four other NPFM members, but as of 7:42 pm, they had not returned, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
The coalition has urged comrades across the country to raise the alarm until the arrested leaders safely return home. "No one in their right mind can take the sudden disappearance of Comrade Abdulmajid and his NPFM colleagues lightly. The growing state of political repression in the country makes it more urgent for the Kano State Commissioner of Police to produce Comrade Abdulmajid and his colleagues," the statement read.
The arrested leaders had previously addressed a press conference in Kano, announcing the commencement of a nationwide National Survival Day protest scheduled for October 1, 2024. The protest aims to address the country’s cost-of-living crisis and endemic bad governance.
The demands of the protest include addressing the overpriced fuel pump rate, food inflation, high cost of governance, grand corruption, persistent insecurity, and the re-nationalization of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC) and electricity distribution companies (DISCOs), among others.
The arrests have raised concerns about the Nigerian government’s willingness to silence dissenting voices ahead of the planned protest. The international community is closely watching the situation, as the country prepares for a major demonstration that could have far-reaching consequences for its political landscape.
