The Briton accused of sponsoring the #EndBadGovernance in Nigeria, Andrew Wynne, has continued to push back, tackling the Nigeria Police Force by alleging an illegal invasion of his Abuja bookshop and theft of his granddaughter’s bicycle during the July 7 night operation at the Labour House in Abuja.
The Nigeria Police Force had on Monday declared Wynne wanted and placed a N20m bounty on him and one Lucky Obiyan, said to be his accomplice.
Speaking from the United Kingdom on Monday, the Briton had faulted the allegation of treason levelled against him by the Nigerian government.
While saying that he was not on the run, Wynne argued that protests by Nigerians against economic hardship could not be designated as treason.
In a WhatsApp conversation with one of our correspondents on Tuesday, the Briton accused the Nigeria Police of unjustified invasion of his bookshop and accused the police of theft.
“Yes, but as I am completely innocent, they have no evidence against me. The government just wants to blame me, as a foreigner, for the massive protests. They need to address the massive poverty that has got much worse in the last 15 months.
“I am concerned for the detainees who have been arrested and tortured. The NLC needs to take action to get them freed.
“I wrote to them on WhatsApp. They started talking but asked me no questions and then stopped. I have not committed any crime, and the police know that. They took all my books from Iva Valley Bookshop, they ransacked my home and stole my granddaughter’s bicycle, and yet they still found no evidence.”
However, addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, the Force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, challenged Wynne to come out of his hiding and present himself to the police if he was sure of his innocence.
Adejobi also disclosed that the police had traced and discovered a school owned by Wynne in Nigeria and questioned staff members.
The police spokesman challenged the Briton to man up and show up to defend his alleged followers who are already in custody.
He said, “He (Wynne) has been contacted several times. He has been so faceless. We went to invade that bookshop. As we asked questions, he came out. If you have a genuine business, are you not going to ask the police what we went to do in his shop or his office?
“Up till now, he has not shown up. We have been able to trace his private school. We visited his school; has he shown up? We have interrogated staff and people working with him. Has he shown up? So where is he, and why is he hiding and speaking from hiding, and why does he have no case to answer?
“As I said, it is not a subject of debate or argument. We have done what we should as a responsible security institution.”
Adejobi insisted that some offences had been established against Wynne, adding that his accomplices had been arraigned in court.
The force spokesperson dared Wynne to come out of hiding and face the law like his accomplices.
He said, “We have established an offence or offences against him, and we have even declared him wanted. His accomplices have been charged in court.
“Let him come out. At least those people worked for him. As a good leader, a businessman, and a smart man who mobilised and organised sleeper cells to cause problems in Nigeria, he should have come out as a good leader and proven to his followers that he was a good leader. Let him come and meet us.”
Adejobi said the Zoom interrogation suggested by Wynne would not be accepted by the police based on the gravity of the allegations preferred against him.
He said, “We have questions to ask him. This is a guy who has been travelling out of Nigeria frequently. Why is it difficult for him to come down? Who is going to take a Zoom meeting for a suspect in this kind of offence? No.
“Let him come. I am still calling him again. Let him come. Suppose he’s a good man. If he is a genuine businessman in Nigeria, let Andrew Wynne report to the police so that he can come and clear some grey areas.”
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
