Popular Edo-based activist, Marxist Kola Edokpayi, has been detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) for three days following plans to stage a protest supporting Burkina Faso’s leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré. Reports indicate that before his arrest, Edo State’s Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, met with Edokpayi to dissuade him from organizing the demonstration. However, DSS officials later stormed his office, searching the premises and taking Edokpayi and several others into custody.
The exact location of Edokpayi and his colleagues remains unknown, as they could either be held in Benin City or have been transferred to Abuja. Allegations suggest they have been denied access to food, water, and visitors since their arrest. Edokpayi’s wife was reportedly refused entry when she tried to visit him amidst fears that he might face treason charges in the capital.
The Edo State chapter of the Take It Back Movement (TIB) has called for his immediate release, condemning the arrest as an attack on constitutional rights. According to the group’s coordinator, Hafiz Lawal, the detention is unlawful and morally indefensible. The activists argue that Edokpayi’s support for Captain Ibrahim Traoré does not breach any laws, citing protections under Sections 38, 39, and 40 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution that guarantee freedom of thought, expression, and association.
Lawal further accused security agencies of targeting dissenting voices and weaponizing state instruments for political repression, sparking outrage from rights groups and activists within and beyond Edo State.
