Victor Ezeja
The Nigeria Police Force has said the British national, Andrew Wynne, who was declared wanted for allegedly being involved in a plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu and terrorism financing, has refused to show up for interrogation.
Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who spoke at a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, said Wynne, also known as Andrew Povich, has been invited several times by the police to respond to the allegations levelled against him but he refused to honour the invitation.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelHe added that Wynne has instead, fled the country to evade arrest.
Prime Business Africa reports that the Nigerian government had declared Wynne wanted over alleged involvement in subversive activities. The Police had earlier raided and sealed his bookshop called Iva Valley located at the national secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The Police subsequently arraigned 10 Nigerians who participated in the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest last month. Part of the charges against them was that they collaborated with Wynne in activities deemed as capable of destablising the country and that they also “called on the military to take over the government from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
The 70-year-old Briton while reacting to the allegations in a statement argued that engaging in protest is not a treasonable offence. He criticised the Nigerian government’s action against protesters as being repressive. He stressed that what the government should have done is address concerns raised by protesters not launching an onslaught against them.
Also in an interview with Channels television on Monday, the British national said he did nothing wrong, asserting that he is not running away and is ever ready to speak with police on the allegations.
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In his address at the press conference in Abuja, the Force PRO accused Wynne of building a network of sleeper cells to cause chaos and topple the government.
“The Nigeria Police Force has launched a comprehensive investigation into the activities of foreign national and subversive elements plotting to undermine the democratically elected government in Nigeria through unconstitutional regime change and orchestrating violence across the country,” Adejobi stated.
“Following extensive intelligence gathering and collaboration with other security agencies, nine suspects have been apprehended, who received substantial financial backing from foreign sources to destabilise the country.”
He further stated that “Preliminary findings suggest they orchestrated and funded violent protests, disseminated false information, and engaged in other unlawful activities to create anarchy and justify their illegal plot to overthrow the democratically elected government.
“Investigations have identified a foreign mercenary, Andrew Wynne (also known as Andrew Povich or Drew Povey), a British national, who built a network of sleeper cells to topple the government and plunge the nation into chaos. He rented a space at Labour House, Abuja, for an ‘Iva Valley Bookshop’ and established ‘STARS of Nations Schools’ as a cover for his subversive activities.”
Adejobi said Wynne and his local coordinator, Obiyan, had fled the country.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
