In a move that has triggered a wave of condemnation across civil society and Pan-Africanist circles, Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested prominent Edo-based activist and convener of the Talakawa Parliament, Comrade Kola Edokpayi, alongside five others in Benin City. The arrests, which took place on Saturday, May 3, 2025, were linked to a planned Pan-African solidarity rally in support of Burkina Faso’s revolutionary leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré.
Eyewitnesses and associates of the detained activist described the arrest as not only high-handed but emblematic of an increasingly intolerant security regime stifling dissent and political expression.
Sources close to Edokpayi disclosed that he had called off the rally after being summoned by the Edo State Commissioner of Police, who reportedly advised him to shelve the event. “He complied with the police directive and sent out communications cancelling the rally,” a source told SaharaReporters. “But despite this, DSS and police operatives stormed his office, broke in, and arrested six persons. Four were later released, but Kola and one other member remain in detention.”
The rally was part of a continent-wide wave of events meant to express solidarity with Traoré’s bold resistance against French neo-colonial influence in West Africa. Similar marches were scheduled to take place in Ghana, South Africa, and parts of Francophone Africa.
In a blistering statement, the Edo State chapter of the Take It Back Movement (TIB) condemned the arrest, calling it an egregious abuse of power and an affront to Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.
“Comrade Edokpayi’s arrest is nothing short of state-sanctioned political repression,” declared Comrade Hafiz Lawal, TIB’s Edo State Coordinator. “His only ‘offence’ was expressing solidarity with a fellow African resisting neo-imperialism. This is not just unlawful—it is morally disgraceful.”
TIB accused Nigeria’s security agencies of being tools in the hands of political elites determined to silence alternative voices and radical grassroots movements. They also cited Sections 38, 39, and 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantee freedoms of thought, expression, and association.
“Edokpayi has long been a tireless advocate for the downtrodden. Under the Talakawa Parliament, he has mobilised thousands against elite oppression and systemic injustice. That he is being targeted for his ideological stance only confirms the authoritarian drift of Nigeria’s political climate,” the group added.
Pan-African voices across the continent have also weighed in. One activist wrote on social media: “Arresting Marxist Kola Edokpayi for a solidarity walk in support of Traoré is not only unjust—it’s a betrayal of African unity. Pan-Africanism must not be criminalised. We’ve seen how the West orchestrated the fall of Gaddafi. Are we about to witness a repeat, enabled by African governments themselves?”
As calls for his immediate release mount, legal experts and rights defenders are warning that such actions by the state only deepen the public’s mistrust in Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
With growing support pouring in from across the continent, it remains to be seen whether the Nigerian government will heed the calls for justice—or double down on silencing a movement that refuses to be caged.
PIONEER NEWS 