The Federal Government is scheduled to arraign several organizers of the recent hunger protest today (Monday) at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Among the defendants named in the six-count charge filed by Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun is British citizen Andrew Wynne, also known as Andrew Povich. The charge sheet, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/454/2024, accuses the defendants of treason, destabilizing the country, intimidating the President, and destroying the NCC in Kano, among other charges.

The Inspector-General of Police claims the protesters conspired with the intent to destabilize the country and commit treason between July 1 and August 4, 2024. The protests, known as the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria movement, took place from August 1 to August 10 in response to economic hardship. According to human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), 2,111 individuals were arrested during the nationwide protests, with 1,403 already arraigned and remanded due to a lack of legal representation.

The charge sheet lists the defendants as Micheal Adaramoye (aka Lenin), Adeyemi Ahayomi (aka Yomi), Suleiman Yakubu, Comrade Opaluwa Eleojo, Angel Innocent, Buhari Lawal, Mosiu Sadiq, Bashir Bello (aka Murtala), Nursdeen Khamis, Abdulsalam Zubairu, Andrew Wynne (aka Andrew Povich), Lucky Obryan, and Comrade Musa Abdollahi. They are accused of conspiring to destabilize the country, committing treason, inciting mutiny, and collaborating with Wynne to wage war against the state, attack police officers, and destroy property.

The Inspector-General states that these actions are in violation of Sections 95, 96, 97, 410, and 416 of the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act CAP P3 LEN 204.

The National Coordinator of Take It Back, Juwon Sanyaolu, confirmed on Sunday that the defendants would be arraigned today, with Femi Falana representing them. Additionally, activists have petitioned the International Criminal Court and the U.S. Embassy, urging the release of the detained #EndBadGovernance protesters. The petition, signed by various U.S.-based activists, argues that the protesters are not enemies of the country and calls for the immediate release of all detainees, the dropping of charges, and an end to the ongoing raids and detentions. The activists also condemned the raid on the Nigeria Labour Congress headquarters and demanded the return of seized materials. They expressed solidarity with Nigerians fighting against poverty, unemployment, and austerity measures imposed by the IMF and World Bank.