#endbadgovernance protest leader Michael Lenin arrested by DSS in Abuja

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested Michael Lenin, a key leader of the #EndBadGovernance protests in the Federal Capital territory.

Lenin was reportedly arrested by the DSS at around 2 a.m. on Monday at his home in the Apo area of the FCT.

Damilare Adenola, the Director of Mobilisation for the Take It Back Movement, stated that Lenin’s house was raided and he was assaulted during the arrest.

“Lenin was arrested by the DSS during a raid on his house around 2 a.m.,” Adenola said.

“He was arrested and tortured in the presence of his family. We are demanding his immediate release.

Michael Lenin, National Coordinator of the Youth Rights Campaign, strongly criticised President Tinubu’s speech, describing it as a masterful exercise in gaslighting, manipulation, and doublespeak that has long plagued Nigeria’s public discourse.

Lenin argued that the ongoing protests are a lawful response by the Nigerian people to the Tinubu-led government’s failure to address systemic injustices after over 14 months in power.

He rejected the President’s claim that the protests are driven by a political agenda to destabilise the country, calling it a baseless attempt to discredit the movement by attributing false motives to it.

He said, “These protests were mobilised by the flagrant extravagance of political office holders in Nigeria for the past 14 months while asking Nigerians to be patient in our hunger and hardship—which they claim to be our sacrifice for the nation.

“It would have been better for the President to have remained silent than to make this broadcast, in which he continued to ignore the legitimate grievances of the Nigerian people and delegitimise our protests as politically motivated.”