DSS Detains Activist Micheal Lenin Over Call for Continued Protests After Tinubu’s Address

Micheal Lenin, a prominent leader of the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protests in Abuja, was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) early Monday morning.

Lenin was apprehended at approximately 2 a.m. at his residence in the Apo area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Damilare Adenola, Director of Mobilisation for the Take It Back Movement, confirmed the arrest in a statement to the press. “Lenin has been arrested by the DSS. He was picked up during a raid on his house around 2 a.m. He was arrested in the presence of his family. We are demanding his immediate and unconditional release,” Adenola said.

Lenin had criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s address to the nation on Sunday. In his remarks, Lenin claimed that Tinubu’s speech indicated a disconnect from the realities faced by Nigerians. “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 continued, “Many had requested that the President 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.”

He urged Nigerians to continue protesting, 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.”

Following these statements, DSS operatives reportedly raided Lenin’s home and detained him.