Andrew Wynne, the British national accused of funding the #EndBadGovernance protests in Nigeria, has continued to fight back. Andrew Wynne claims the Nigerian Police Force illegally raided his bookshop in Abuja and stole his granddaughter’s bicycle during a night operation at the Labour House on July 7. Speaking from the United Kingdom on Tuesday, Wynne denied the treason charges against him, stating that he was not evading the authorities.....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
The Briton argued that protesting against economic difficulties shouldn’t be considered treason.
In a WhatsApp conversation with a reporter on Tuesday, Wynne accused the Nigerian Police of unjustly raiding his bookshop, Iva Valley Bookshop, and stealing items, including his granddaughter’s bicycle.
He claimed there was no evidence against him and criticized the government for trying to blame him for the protests instead of addressing the worsening poverty.
Wynne said, “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.”
Nigerian Police spokesperson Muyiwa Adejobi responded while addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, urging Wynne to come forward if he is innocent.
Adejobi said the police had found Wynne’s school in Nigeria and questioned staff. He criticized Wynne for hiding and not addressing the accusations directly.
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 challenged Wynne to face the law, emphasizing that some offenses had been established against him and his accomplices had been charged in court.
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.”
The police spokesman dismissed Wynne’s suggestion of a Zoom interrogation, insisting that the Briton should come to Nigeria in person to clear up the issues.
“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,”
Adejobi added.
