A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an arrest warrant for a British national, Andrew Wynne, over allegations bordering on treason and terrorism in Nigeria.
The order was granted by the presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, following an ex-parte motion filed by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).
The police counsel, Audu Garba, who moved the application, urged the court to authorise the arrest of Wynne, who is also known by several aliases, including Andrew Povich, Lucky Ehis Obiyan, and another suspect, Abdullahi Musa.
Garba argued that the arrest was necessary as Wynne is wanted for multiple charges, including conspiracy, treason, incitement to mutiny, disaffection from the government, and terrorism.
He stressed that these charges are in violation of Sections 97, 410, 413, 416, and 412 of the Penal Code, Northern States Federal Provisions Act CAP P3 LFN 2004.
The affidavit supporting the motion alleged that Wynne and his associates orchestrated and coordinated attacks that led to the invasion and burning of several critical facilities, including the high court complex, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) office, and a printing press in Kano during the #EndBadGovernance protests.
They are also accused of involvement in attacks on the Kano Government House, the Kaduna Investment and Promotions Agency’s office, the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) office, and several other buildings last month.
Garba emphasised that the issuance of the arrest warrant would enable law enforcement and other security agencies to utilise their mechanisms to apprehend Wynne and his accomplices lawfully.
In his ruling, Judge Nwite described the application as “meritorious” and granted the arrest order.
LEADERSHIP reports that this development followed accusations made during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday by the spokesperson for the Nigerian Police Force, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi.
Adejobi had accused Wynne of establishing a “network of sleeper cells to topple the government and plunge the nation into chaos.”
He claimed that Wynne had rented a space at the headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja for the “Iva Valley Bookshop” and founded “STARS of Nations Schools” as fronts for his subversive activities.
“Documentary evidence and confessions revealed that Andrew Wynne issued directives, monitored progress, and provided finance and operational guidance to achieve unconstitutional regime change in Nigeria,” Adejobi alleged.
Adding, he said Wynne “mobilised and deployed several billions of naira to his Nigerian collaborators, urging them to incite the public to violently storm police facilities and military barracks, anticipating a bloodbath that would trigger international condemnation of the Nigerian government.”
The allegations are said to be in violation of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011 and other relevant laws.
In response to these charges, Drew Povey, who is believed to be another alias used by Wynne, publicly denied the allegations.
Povey issued a statement rejecting the federal government’s accusations, stating, “The federal government has chosen to arrest protesters rather than address the legitimate demands of the people. PROTEST IS NOT TREASON – release all the detainees!”
Povey further claimed, “The mass protests over #EndBadGovernance and #EndHunger frightened the government. But rather than addressing the peoples’ demands, the government turned to repression. Perhaps 40 people were murdered by the police and other security forces, thousands were arrested, and many still remain in captivity.”
The case has sparked significant domestic and international attention, with human rights organisations and political commentators closely monitoring the developments.