Activist Akande Daniel Arrested In Abuja Church Over #EndBadGovernance Protests Marks 32nd Birthday In Police Detention
A human rights activist and member of the Solidarity Network for Workers’ Rights, Akande Daniel Babatunde, who was arrested by the Nigerian police on September 1, 2024 over his alleged role in the August 1-10 #EndBadGovernance nationwide protests on Monday marked his 32nd birthday in police detention.
While some Nigerian youths arrested and detained by the police over the protests have been granted stringent bail conditions by the court, the National Secretary of Youth Rights Campaign (YRC), Francis Nwapa, revealed on Monday that Daniel had been kept incommunicado by the Nigerian police without trial.
Demanding Daniel’s immediate release, Nwapa, in a post on his X account said, “Daniel Akande was supposed to be celebrating his birthday today 17th September but was abducted in his church by @PoliceNG IRT unit for protesting during the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria, he has been kept incommunicado without trial.
“We condemn this & demand his immediate release. We condemn this & demand his immediate release.”
SaharaReporters learnt that Daniel was born on September 16, 1992. It was earlier reported that Daniel, who is also a member of the Network of Abuja Left Groups, was arrested in church during service on Sunday, September 1, 2024, by the Inspector General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) at Guzape District in the Federal Capital Territory.The Solidarity Network for Workers’ Rights had in a statement issued by its Coordinator, Segun Ogun and Secretary, Lateef Adams, said the officers falsely claimed the activist’s arrest was related to a murder case to justify their actions.
The group said Daniel and his wife had their smartphones confiscated, and that according to his lawyer, upon his arrival at the IRT facility, he was questioned only once regarding whether he had received any funds during the August protests, to which he responded in the negative.
However, he has since his arrest been held incommunicado by the police without either being tried in court or released.
