At his trial in Abuja on Friday 27 September, Daniel Akande, a member of Movement for Socialist Alternative (MSA, ISA in Nigeria), became the eleventh activist to be charged with treason, which could lead to the death penalty.
The charges and the threat of the death penalty underline the seriousness of the campaign in support of Mr Akande and other activists. The media has also reported on the torture of arrested activists. They must be released, and all charges dropped!
At the first trial on 2 September, ten activists arrested in August were charged. They pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit treason, attempting to destabilize Nigeria, attempting to depose the president, waging war against the government and inciting mutiny.
The unbearable situation with price hikes on fuel, food and transport, implemented by the Tinubu government, has been answered with strikes and protests. The 11 are on trial for their role in the massive #EndBadGovernance protests in early August. Trade unions are also under attack, accused of financing terrorism. New days of protest will follow.
At the trial on Friday, with Mr Akande added: “The defendants pleaded not guilty to the eight-count charge when it was read to them” (from the Sahara Reporters news site).
Following their plea, the trial was adjourned. The bail appeal will be heard on October 4 and the main trial will start on November 11.
The false nature of the allegations and the weakness of the case are evident. Lawyers representing the accused criticized “” or “the list of each witness they intend to call.” They demanded that “the written testimonies of all witnesses, including the police, and all documents must be provided. Any procedure contrary to this invalidates the entire proceedings.” (Sahara Reporters)
On Friday, Daniel Akande was given the same harsh bail conditions as the other 10 activists. He is to pay 10 million Naira (12 years salary), be registered with a property in Abuja and not to give any interviews. Mr Akande was also ordered to surrender his passport. So far, seven of the ten have met the bail conditions.
What to do Now
The bail for each person is 10 million Naira, about $8,000. Organize collections and send to PayPal [email protected]
The first ten days of August saw a working-class youth revolt across Nigeria called #EndBadGovernance where millions expressed anger at the policies of the Tinubu regime around wages and price hikes. Working class and youth activists were key to the mobilizations. This is part of a wave of young people in Africa rising up against oppressive pro-business regimes, as the mass protests in Kenya showed.
The Tinubu regime reacted with mass arrests of workers, youth, socialists, trade-unionists, and journalists. Hundreds of people were arrested for taking part in democratic protests against devastating living conditions and for better wages.
Throughout history imperialism has ravaged the continent of Africa, and the #EndBadGovernance protests are an inspiring example of workers fighting against the effects of imperialist interests. Today as the US and China fight for control of the world, workers in neo-colonial countries feel the brunt of this. The Nigerian government is shackled to Western business interests because of predatory loans from the IMF, forcing them to implement price hikes and taxes.
Capitalism is an international system, and that means workers across the world have a common enemy: the bosses and big business.
International Socialist Alternative, which Socialist Alternative is a part of, is organizing an international solidarity campaign to immediately release the hundreds of people arrested, including Daniel Akande, a member of Movement for a Socialist Alternative (ISA in Nigeria) and for the false treason charge to be dropped! If anyone should be on trial, it is the Tinubu Regime and its security agents for the crime of killing 24 protesters.
This is an interview with Aj. Dagga Tolar, a member of Movement for a Socialist Alternative.
Question: Why has the government arrested Daniel and other protesters?
Answer: The government arrested Daniel Akande and ten others for treason, and hundreds of others are still detained by the police since the protest in August. It is a clear turn to repression to silence the working masses from any attempt to speak out against the Tinubu regime. The ruling class in Nigeria is not turning anything around, rather it is worsening the living conditions of the working masses.
Young workers protesting against hunger and bad governance were able to win over millions of workers to the idea of not going to work on the first day of the protests. There was little or no vehicular movement for the whole day in the majority of the country. This support will definitely grow, and can serve as a reference that the working people can learn from. Ultimately, without workers’ organizations providing the leadership and program for the working masses to boldly seek to end capitalism, then we’ll continue to drift into the abyss.
Q: What does this say about the state of freedom of speech and assembly in Nigeria?
A: Clearly it is under threat! There is a need to organize the necessary resistance against this attack on democratic rights by the Tinubu regime. Working class youth peacefully engaged in protests to draw government attention to hunger and poverty in the country. Now they’re being put on trial for treason with the death sentence as punishment! This is completely unbelievable. They weren’t armed—the only thing they had with them was their voices and signs!
Q: The current government has implemented several neoliberal policies, including the recent fuel hike. How do you think these policies and the subsequent suppression of protests will impact public trust in the government?
A: The Tinubu regime has clearly lost its support base in the country. Even in the Yoruba heartland where he comes from, there is a growing mood about him being a complete failure, and more and more people will draw the same conclusion. It is clear that the working masses must organize themselves politically to take on the Tinubu regime. And to do this they will require a political party, independent of the ones currently on offer. The Nigerian Labor Party (LP) is not a vehicle for this. Their presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is a billionaire and only crossed over to the LP on the eve of the election having failed to win the ticket of the major capitalist opposition, People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Q: The president of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, was recently arrested in a broader trend of silencing labor leaders, activists, and journalists. What is the significance of this?
A: The government wants to send the false message that trade unions do not have the right to give solidarity support to working class youth and protesters who are not directly members of their unions. It is desperately seeking to claim that the labor leaders are responsible for organizing and financing the August protest to create a basis for prosecuting them. And it is working to scare the labor leaders from actually providing the necessary leadership to the growing agitation and anger of the working masses against the worsening living conditions and another fuel price increase.
Q: The government is using the police and security forces as tools to stifle peaceful protests. What do you believe is the most effective way to challenge these authoritarian tactics?
A: It is to continue to defy the measures. Another round of protest has already been declared for October 1. Mobilization is underway, and we call on workers and youth all over – on campus, in communities – to organize themselves and step out onto the street to voice their displeasure and at the same time assert the right to protest and organize as a class is a democratic right.
Q: With the escalation in repressive measures, such as charging protestors with treason or terrorism, how can Nigerians ensure that legitimate grievances are heard without fear of arrest or harassment?
A: Nigerians already have their backs pushed all the way against the wall. The laws of the land only seem to function for tiny members of the super rich class, but we have the right to legitimately and peacefully organize without fear of arrest! The ruling class knows that it can no longer hoodwink the working masses with the lies that things will get better through the neoliberal capitalist agenda. The policy of deregulation and the devaluation of the country currency as dictated by the IMF and World Bank has failed to turn the economy around. Nigeria is completely import-dependent on nearly all of its essential needs. Despite an abundant surplus, we have no functional refineries. This is because importing fuel guarantees the oil barons more super profits!
Like in the US, with the Republicans and Democrats, the major capitalist parties here are not fundamentally different from each other. They act in concert and benefit collectively from ruining the lives of the working masses as a means to garner more wealth.
There’s an urgent need for an independent political party, armed with a socialist program fighting to break the stranglehold of capitalism and imperialism and free the wealth and resources of the country for usage to develop the means of production with the aim of meeting the needs of all.
Q: How can working and young people in the US and elsewhere support the protesters in Nigeria and their struggle against repression?
A: We appeal to human rights organizations, trade unions, and pro-worker organizations to not ignore the events in Nigeria. Point people towards the events here, and raise it with Nigerians living abroad. Organizations and individuals should join whatever they can to help organize the working masses in the country to continue the fightback against capitalism; and the rejection of the bottom of the rung position as a dependent state for producing raw materials to feed the US, Europe and China.
Internationally, we need to assert the fact that it is a democratic right to peacefully protest and organize by demanding for those arrested to be set free and the false and spurious charges of treason to be dropped. Free Daniel Akande Now! Drop the false charges of treason!
