#EndBadGovernace: Wanted Briton speaks on treason allegations, visits to Nigeria, bookshop, other suspects

Andrew Wynne, a British socialist declared wanted for alleged attempt to topple President Tinubu-led government, has again dismissed the Nigerian government’s allegations against him.

Mr Wynne, 70, who became a target of the Nigerian government as a result of his roles in the #EndBadGovernance protest in Abuja in August.

The police linked him to 10 persons that were arrested in connection with the protest being tried on treason charges at the Federal High Cout in Abuja, accusing him of building “a network of sleeper cells to topple” the Bola Tinubu administration “and plunge the nation into chaos.”

In a statement on Monday, the second he has issued since the police declared him wanted on 2 September, Mr Wynne, also known by his alias, Andrew Porvey, said protest is not treason. He wrote in his earlier statement that protest is not treason.

On Monday, Mr Wynne, who owns the Ivy Bookshop located in the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC in Abuja, raided by the police in the wake of the #EndBadGovernance protest, maintained in his fresh statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES that he is totally innocent of any wrongdoing that the government might have filed against him.

Mr Wynne wrote in the statement, his most detailed personal account regarding the protest and government’s clampdown on him and others associated with the protest to date, that he had no criminal records since the last 25 years that he has been visiting Nigeria.

He said that the police illegally blocked about 32 accounts without providing any concrete proof that he sponsored the owners of the accounts to cause mayhem during the hunger protest.

“But, they have not provided a single example of any transaction to support their claim that I funded treason or any other illegal activity. The police have no evidence for the crimes that they claim I have committed. The police have not provided any evidence that I paid people to support the protests. I did not pay anyone for such activities,” he said.

Mr Wynne also denied the allegation that he visited other African countries 13 times in two months, describing it as a “complete fabrication.”

“I have been travelling to Nigeria regularly, five or six times a year, since at least 2008. I have had a business visa to cover each of these visits. The police claim that I visited other African countries 13 times in two months. This is a complete fabrication.

“I have never called for a military coup in any country. I support democracy and do not believe that military coups are a step forward. I do not think the recent coups in West Africa have benefited the common people in those countries,” he added.

‘Other suspects charged with treason are innocent’

Mr Wynne, who described himself as a retired accountant, explained that he has been running the bookshop for the past seven years openly. “To my knowledge the police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security operatives have never visited the book shop,” he wrote.

The British national also stated that he set up a book stall in Eagle Square, Abuja during the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) May Day celebrations in the last two years.

“On each occasion, the DSS officers came and greeted us and looked at the book stall. Beyond this, they expressed no interest in myself or the book stall.

“The nickname claimed for me by the police of Povich is their fabrication. I had never before even heard of such a name,” the renowned socialist said.

He said he freely left Nigeria on 4 August, four days into the #EndBadGovernance protest.

“I freely flew out of the country from Abuja Airport on 4th August on a ticket that I had purchased nearly three months earlier,” he wrote, adding, “I had no reason to flee and had already booked a ticket to return as usual on 18th September.”

He denied knowing some of the arrested protesters detained by the Nigerian authorities for treason, saying that he had no business or close relationship with them.

“I hardly know any of those detained for the alleged crimes associated with me. I have never met most of them and had no contact with them before they were detained.

“Yomi has worked with me for nearly five years, but beyond this I have never had any contact of any sort with most of the others that I am accused of conspiring with.

“I believe that all of the 10 people who have been charged with alleged offences associated with me are completely innocent. When they are found not guilty my name will also be cleared,” he concluded.

#EndBadGovernance protest, allegations against Briton

Nigerians held a nationwide protest between 1 and 10 August against “bad governance” and the rising cost of living attributed to President Tinubu’s flagship economic policies—the controversial removal of the petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira.

The protests turned violent and led to the destruction and looting of government and private properties in many Northern Nigerian cities. Some individuals were also spotted in Kano and Kaduna waving the Russian flags. On multiple occasions, the police fired teargas at protesters, and on two occasions in Abuja, live ammunition at peaceful protesters and journalists covering the protests at the Moshood Abiola International Stadium. The police arrested over a thousand protesters, 10 of whom are currently facing charges of treason.

The government said it was investigating individuals behind the Russian flags, leading to multiple arrests, including tailors who sewed the flags and Polish nationals on an academic visit at the Bayero University Kano.

Accusing Mr Wynne of plotting to topple Mr Tinubu’s government, the police declared him wanted and obtained a court order for his arrest alongside two Nigerians –Lucky Obiyan and Abdullahi Musa– accused of being the Briton’s collaborators.