Rita Odafe
Micheal Adaramoye, also known as Lenin, has shared his distressing experience following his release on bail after being detained as a leader of the #EndBadGovernance protests in Nigeria.
During a discussion hosted by Hetty Dre and the Youth Rights Campaign, Micheal, who heads the Youth Rights Campaign (YRC), described the harsh conditions he faced while in police custody.
“My first night in the police cell was extremely unpleasant; we were informed our living situation would change, but the new cell was dire.”
“You can only imagine how the old cell was,” he remarked.
He recounted an interaction with officers at the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) detention center, where they expressed their dissatisfaction with the country’s situation and acknowledged that Micheal’s actions were justified.
“We were questioned while lined up, and the officers even shared their frustrations about the country’s condition without subjecting me to physical torture.”
Many detainees spoke about the cruelty and inhumane conditions they faced, highlighting alarming issues of overcrowding.
“There were about 30 of us in that small cell. People were sobbing, voicing complaints about the indifference of the police and the torture inflicted on various individuals in differing situations.”
“Some detainees had festering wounds and it became apparent that the police would kill indiscriminately. We were crammed in without space to sleep. I had to share a spot with someone suffering from skin rashes and lice because there were no other options. I struggled to breathe or move comfortably.”
Lenin pointed out that the police intentionally withheld food from the inmates, pocketing money meant for those in custody.
“I went without food for most of the four days. It was only on the third day that I received a single meal. Officers regularly seized funds meant for inmates without delivering them.”
He also faced multiple denials for access to legal counsel during his imprisonment.
Upon reviewing paperwork provided to him during this time, Micheal realized that the government lacked a solid case against the detained protesters.
Furthermore, he reported that his bank accounts remained frozen even after the court granted his bail.
Micheal alleged that police tampered with his phone, which was confiscated during his arrest, as they searched through his personal information and messages.
It is noted that Micheal was taken into custody during the #EndBadGovernance protests and was released only after satisfying bail conditions amounting to N10 million, including a surety of the same amount and a property deed.
On September 11, Justice Emeka Nwite approved bail, but Micheal was not freed until October 4, due to stringent conditions placed on his release.
The protesters faced severe accusations including treason and incitement, with the movement itself aimed at addressing issues of poor governance and economic decline in Nigeria.
The actions taken against Micheal and his fellow protesters drew significant backlash both locally and internationally.
