Andrew Wynne, accused of sponsoring Nigeria’s #EndBadGovernance protests, has pushed back against the Nigeria Police Force, alleging: “an illegal invasion of his Abuja bookshop and theft of his granddaughter’s bicycle during the July 7 night operation at the Labour House in Abuja.”

The Nigeria Police Force declared Wynne and Lucky Obiyan wanted on Monday, offering a ₦20 million bounty.

From the UK, Wynne responded: “Protests by Nigerians against economic hardship cannot be designated as treason.”

He emphasized: “I’m not on the run.”

Wynne challenged the treason allegations levelled by the Nigerian government, sparking ongoing tensions.

The Briton, in a WhatsApp conversation (with The Punch) on Tuesday, accused the Nigeria Police of unjustified invasion of his bookshop and accused the police of theft.

“Yes, but as I am completely innocent, they have no evidence against me. The government just wants to blame me, as a foreigner, for the massive protests. They need to address the massive poverty that has got much worse in the last 15 months.

“I am concerned for the detainees who have been arrested and tortured. The NLC needs to take action to get them freed.

“I wrote to them on WhatsApp. They started talking but asked me no questions and then stopped. I have not committed any crime, and the police know that. They took all my books from Iva Valley Bookshop, they ransacked my home and stole my granddaughter’s bicycle, and yet they still found no evidence.”

However, addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, the Force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, challenged Wynne to come out of his hiding and present himself to the police if he was sure of his innocence.

Adejobi also disclosed that the police had traced and discovered a school owned by Wynne in Nigeria and questioned staff members.

The police spokesman challenged the Briton to man up and show up to defend his alleged followers who are already in custody.

He said, “He (Wynne) has been contacted several times. He has been so faceless. We went to invade that bookshop. As we asked questions, he came out. If you have a genuine business, are you not going to ask the police what we went to do in his shop or his office?

“Up till now, he has not shown up. We have been able to trace his private school. We visited his school; has he shown up? We have interrogated staff and people working with him. Has he shown up? So where is he, and why is he hiding and speaking from hiding, and why does he have no case to answer?

“As I said, it is not a subject of debate or argument. We have done what we should as a responsible security institution.”

Adejobi insisted that some offences had been established against Wynne, adding that his accomplices had been arraigned in court.

The force spokesperson dared Wynne to come out of hiding and face the law like his accomplices.

He said, “We have established an offence or offences against him, and we have even declared him wanted. His accomplices have been charged in court.

“Let him come out. At least those people worked for him. As a good leader, a businessman, and a smart man who mobilised and organised sleeper cells to cause problems in Nigeria, he should have come out as a good leader and proven to his followers that he was a good leader. Let him come and meet us.”

Adejobi said the Zoom interrogation suggested by Wynne would not be accepted by the police based on the gravity of the allegations preferred against him.

He said, “We have questions to ask him. This is a guy who has been travelling out of Nigeria frequently. Why is it difficult for him to come down? Who is going to take a Zoom meeting for a suspect in this kind of offence? No.

“Let him come. I am still calling him again. Let him come. Suppose he’s a good man. If he is a genuine businessman in Nigeria, let Andrew Wynne report to the police so that he can come and clear some grey areas.”

•  Court Orders Briton’s Arrest

Meanwhile, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, issued an arrest warrant against Wynne and some Nigerian nationals over allegations bordering on treason and terrorism.

The order was granted following an ex parte motion filed by the Inspector-General of Police against Wynne and 10 other Nigerians reportedly on the run.

Counsel for the police, Audu Garba, urged the court to grant the application in the interest of justice, to enable all police officers in the country as well as other security agencies, to use their mechanisms to secure the lawful arrest of the fleeing defendants.

He said the defendants who are on the run were involved in the case of conspiracy, treason, inciting to mutiny, and inciting disaffection against the government contrary to sections 97, 410, 413, 416 and 412 of the Penal Code, Northern States Federal Provisions Act CAP P3 LFN 2004.

Justice Nwite granted the motion, describing it as meritorious.

• Falana Faults Charges

Meanwhile, human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has condemned the increasing use of treason charges against protesters in the country.

Speaking on Tuesday at a two-day 1st International Anti-corruption and Climate Change conference in Abuja, Falana expressed deep concern over what he described as the “tribalisation” of treason, questioning the rationale behind charging citizens with treason simply for exercising their right to protest.

“I have been under pressure in the last 24 hours from Nigeria and abroad. People are wondering why the charge of treason is being trivialised in our country. And how can you say because people protested, they are being charged with treason?

“All those who have expressed concern, do not be bothered. There is no cause for alarm.

“We are taking up the case, and we are going to advise the government, particularly the President, to direct the police to withdraw the charge. And that advice is also in the interest of the government because a treason charge is not like a charge of stealing.

“This will be the fifth treason charge I am going to defend in our country. In the four previous cases, the government was compelled to withdraw the charges because we turned the case into the trial of the government,” Falana said.

Credit: The Punch