Treasonable Felony : Andrew Wynne denies plot to overthrow Tinubu

Andrew Wynne, a Briton accused of inciting insurrection by the Federal Government, has urged the government to address protesters’ demands rather than treat them as criminals and looking for scapegoats.

Wynne said this in a statement in reaction to the government’s allegation of building “a network of sleeper cells to topple” the Tinubu government.

Wynne’s bookshop located at the headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had earlier been raided.

Part of the charges against him was enabling some ‘End Bad Governance’ protesters “with intent to destabilise Nigeria.” The statement on the letterhead of his bookshop condemned the arbitrary detention of protesters by Nigerian security agencies. He, therefore, urged the NLC, led by Joe Ajaero, to wade in to “protect” all Nigerians.

Wynne’s letter partly reads: “The NLC has shown that it has the power to protect its President. It now needs to extend this action to protect its other officers, its members and the general public.”

Authorities are reportedly offering a N20 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Messrs Wynne and Obinyan.

Earlier, the Federal Government of Nigeria said a media report of a possible coup attempt was “fake news.”

Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, said the report was ‘unequivocally false, and a heinous act of disinformation’, adding that it was aimed at sowing seeds of discord in the country.

Recall that on Monday, September 2, the Nigerian Police Force declared Andrew Wynne, also known as Andrew Povich or Drew Povey, a British national, and Lucky Ehis Obinyan, wanted for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The Force disclosed that it has specifically launched a comprehensive investigation on how foreign mercenaries and those it described as subversive elements plotted against the current administration.

The spokesman of the force, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.

Adejobi noted that the British 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.
He added that documentary evidence and confessions revealed that Andrew Wynne issued directives and monitored the progress of the August protest. The senior Police Officer added that the foreigner provided finance and operational guidance to achieve unconstitutional regime change in Nigeria.

He said:
“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.”

This came days after the Police ordered the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, and Emma Ugboaja, the Union’s General Secretary, to appear at the Force Headquarters on September 5, 2024, for questioning after they were quizzed over the British National, who is a tenant at Labour House, Abuja.