DSS Arrests Nigerian Activist Kola Edokpayi Over Proposed Rally Supporting Burkina Faso’s Fight Against Foreign Interference

Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested activist and Talakawa Parliament leader Comrade Kola Edokpayi in Benin City, Edo State.

The arrest followed his plans to organise a Pan-African solidarity rally in support of Burkina Faso’s fight against foreign interference and its revolutionary leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré.

According to reports from SaharaReporters, Edokpayi had arranged the rally but was called by the Commissioner of Police to cancel it. He complied and dispatched messages to halt the protest. Despite this, DSS and police operatives stormed his office, detained about six individuals, and later released four, retaining Edokpayi and another member in custody.

The Edo State chapter of the Take It Back Movement (TIB) condemned the arrest, describing it as a blatant violation of constitutional rights.

“Comrade Edokpayi was arrested for expressing solidarity with the government of Burkina Faso led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré. This blatant act of political repression is not only unlawful but a direct attack on the constitutional rights of Nigerian citizens,” the group stated.

Captain Traoré, who assumed power in Burkina Faso following a coup in September 2022, has garnered widespread support for his anti-colonial stance and efforts to eliminate foreign influence and interference in the region.

Under his leadership, Burkina Faso, along with Mali and Niger, formed the Confederation of Sahel States (CSS), distancing themselves from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and seeking new partnerships.

Recent months have seen a surge in rallies across West Africa and beyond supporting Traoré and the CSS. In Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, thousands gathered to back the its leadership following a foiled coup attempt controversial statements made by AFRICOM Commander Michael Langley during a recent Senate hearing. Langley’s remarks about Burkina Faso’s governance were widely criticised as misleading and dismissive.

Human rights organisations have denounced over the suppression of free expression in Nigeria and the broader implications for civil liberties in the region.

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