#EndBadGovernanceInNigeria: Arrested protest leader not in our custody- SSS

The State Security Service (SSS) said the protest leader arrested in Abuja, Michael Adaramoye, is not in its custody.

“The DSS can confirm that Adaramoye Michael (aka Michael Lenin) is not in its custody,” it said in a terse Monday statement posted on X.

But the service did not categorically deny arresting him from his home at midnight as claimed by his fellow protest leaders.

Mr Adaramoye is the national coordinator of the Youths Rights Campaign.

The Director of Mobilisation for the Take It Back Movement, Damilare Adenola, with whom Mr Adaramoye held a press conference on Sunday, told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday morning about his arrest.

He said the secret police arrested Mr Adaramoye at midnight in his Apo-Dutse residence in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.

He added that their lawyers were working to secure his release.

Tailors arrested

Meanwhile, the SSS said it has apprehended some tailors in Kano State responsible for making Russian flags being distributed in the city.

“Some of their sponsors have also been picked. Investigation is ongoing,” it said.

What Mr Adaramoye said at briefing

Mr Adaramoye had on Sunday held a press conference reacting to President Bola Tinubu’s nationwide address, describing it as empty, even as he urged protesters to troop out on Monday.

He said Mr Tinubu is ‘out of touch’ with the reality of the masses and the demands of the protesters.

He said Mr Tinubu’s attribution of the protests as a politically motivated one is an attempt to “call a dog a bad name so that it can be harmed”.

He noted that the protests have been largely faceless and leaderless because it was a spontaneous response to the deep economic crisis experienced by Nigerians.

“The insistence that the protests are politically motivated shows a deep disconnection with the masses,” he said on Sunday.

He said the economic achievement listed by Mr Tinubu is for himself and his cronies and doesn’t reflect in the reality of the Nigerian masses.

He added that Mr Tinubu’s address did not address any of the protester’s demands.

“Tomorrow, we will be out en masse. Our people will be out to further the protests because the protests continue. As we all recall, it is a ten-day protest,” he said.