A leader of the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protests in Abuja, Micheal Lenin, was arrested early Monday morning by the Department of State Services.
According to the Director of Mobilisation for the Take It Back Movement, Damilare Adenola, Lenin was detained at his home in the Apo area of the Federal Capital Territory around 2 am.
Adenola said, “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.”
Lenin had criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s national address on Sunday. In his statement, Lenin expressed disappointment, saying, “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.”
He added, “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.”
Lenin had urged Nigerians to continue the protests on Monday, saying, “The violence and repressions are just attempts to silence and control us, and the propaganda cannot sway or fool us.”
Following his call for continued protests, DSS operatives raided Lenin’s house and arrested him on Monday night.
