The arrest of the Convener of Concerned Nigeria group, Prince Deji Adeyanju, has sparked off outrage among many Civil Society Organizations as Movement for the Advancement of National Transfomation (MANTRA) warned of the dire consequences of this action by the Nigeria Police.
Deji was arrested this morning for staging a protest against the planned secret trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)
In a statement issued and signed by the Convener of MANTRA, Mr Ndukwe, he warned that the arrest of Deji will spell none other than doom for Nigeria.
Read full statement below:
The statement reads in full below: “Following the urgent nature of the issue on ground, I have the mandate of over 50 civil society groups to make the following statement following the illegal arrest of one of us by the police.
“We have just heard of the arrest of Prince Deji Adeyanju, Convener of Concerned Nigerians, over his organization of a peaceful rally tagged #FreeNnamdiKanu which was meant to, once again, bring the attention of the world to the many inhuman treatments which the despotic government of Muhammadu Buhari has subjected the IPOB leader to including the secret trial he is forced to pass through.
“Without much ado, we urgently and strongly demand that Mr Adeyanju be released immediately or this government which has so shamelessly descended into brazen fascism and tyranny in a supposed democratic dispensation will have the wrath of a resolute coalition of civil society organizations to contend with. This nonsense has to stop!
“The wanton arrests, detention and or even killing of journalists, bloggers, human rights and political activists and opponents, religious adherents etc, by this government has got to its height and we have to put an end to it now. We can no longer afford to continue to fold our arms while a very tiny fraction of our society as represented by the police and the military stifles us and deny us our inalienable rights. Enough is enough! “This government should be ready to face a flurry of furious protests capable of shutting government activities down if Deji Adeyanju and all those arrested with him are not released immediately.
“The cause for which Deji was arrested is a just one. Nnamdi Kanu has no reason to be subjected to any secret trial and other deliberate humiliations from Muhammadu Buhari and his whimsical servants while notorious and murderous Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen terrorists are given kingly treatments and even paid compensations for murdering fellow Nigerians who do not share the same religion and ethnicity with those in power.
“We have been in the trenches with Deji for some time now. We organized the Anti-Social Media Bill rally. It was peaceful. We organized the #IstandWithNigeria rally. It was peaceful. We organized the pro-Amnesty International Rally. It was peaceful. We organized a rally to warn the executive to stop undermining the legislative arm of government. It was also peaceful, and many more.
“Deji Adeyanju is a peaceful activist. None of the rallies he called or participated in has ever gone violent. So why arrest such a man if not that this government is deliberately on the path of incurring the wrath of civil society groups?
“We are watching and warning. The keg of gunpowder upon which this nation has been sitting since the inglorious second coming of Buhari is about to go off. Free Prince Deji Adeyanju now or face the consequences.
Signed: Jude Ndukwe Convener, Movement for the Advancement of National Transfomation (MANTRA)”
For and on behalf of Coalition of Civil Society Organisations”