JUST IN : DSS arrests Nigerian activist over solidarity rally for Burkina Faso’s leader, Traore

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have reportedly arrested Edo-based activist, Comrade Kola Edokpayi alongside five others, over a planned solidarity rally for Burkina Faso’s revolutionary leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré.

Edokpayi, who leads the Talakawa Parliament, was picked up in Benin City, Edo State, on Saturday, May 3, 2025, SaharaReporters reported.

His arrest has drawn criticism from human rights advocates, civil society groups, and pan-African movements across the continent, many of whom have denounced it as an assault on fundamental freedoms.

According to a source familiar with the incident, Edokpayi had initially arranged the rally but agreed to cancel it after meeting with the Edo State Commissioner of Police the day before the event.

“He made arrangements for a solidarity rally. The Commissioner of Police called him a day before the rally and held a meeting with him to call it off. He complied and dispatched people to cancel the protest. But DSS and police operatives later stormed his office, broke in, and arrested about six people. Four were released, but they detained him and one other member,” the source told the online newspaper.

Organisers said the rally was part of a continent-wide show of support for Captain Traoré’s resistance to French neo-colonialism in West Africa, with similar events planned in Ghana and South Africa.

In response to the arrest, the Edo State chapter of the Take It Back Movement (TIB) issued a statement demanding Edokpayi’s immediate release.

“Comrade Edokpayi was arrested for expressing solidarity with the government of Burkina Faso led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré. This blatant act of political repression is not only unlawful but a direct attack on the constitutional rights of Nigerian citizens,” the statement read in part.

“He has consistently mobilised the masses under the platform of the Talakawa Parliament, a grassroots movement that champions the rights of ordinary Nigerians against elite exploitation.”

The statement, signed by TIB’s Edo State Coordinator, Comrade Hafiz Lawal, further described the detention as “legally indefensible and morally reprehensible,” accusing security agencies of using state power to silence dissent.

“Freedom of thought, expression, and association are guaranteed under Sections 38, 39, and 40 of the 1999 Constitution. His show of support for Captain Ibrahim Traoré does not in any way justify his arrest,” the group insisted.

A Pan-African activist also weighed in online, stating: “Arresting Marxist Kola Edokpayi for a proposed solidarity walk in support of Ibrahim Traoré is totally uncalled for. Pan-Africanism shouldn’t be killed; it’s supposed to be encouraged by all African countries and leaders. I remember Gaddafi, a true Pan-Africanist, who was betrayed by fellow Africans used by Western powers. Kola has done nothing wrong for standing for Africa. He must be released.”