Nigeria’s national intelligence agency announced the arrests, which took place in the northwestern state of Kano, on Thursday. In a statement, it is said that the seven Poles are accused “of having played a “suspicious role in the protests and of having waved Russian flags”. The authorities have not provided more details about what the seven are said to have done in the protests.
Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs replies that it is about six students and a teacher who “were in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
The University of Warsaw states that the rector of Bayero University in Kano has assured that “the students are safe” in Abuja in Nigeria.
Africa’s most populous country is experiencing its biggest cost-of-living crisis in years after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu introduced reforms to revitalize the economy and increase foreign investment in the country.
The situation has now calmed down after a week of protests. According to Amnesty International, 21 people have been killed. Police and security forces in Nigeria have said seven people have died, and have denied that the authorities are responsible for the deaths.
Dozens of people waving Russian flags at the demonstrations have also been arrested, in a move similar to similar demonstrations in Niger and Burkina Faso, where coup plotters have installed military governments with closer ties to Russia.
#Poles #arrested #Nigeria
2024-08-10 02:30:00
