Agents of Nigeria’s Department of State Services swooped on the Benin City office of Comrade Kola Edokpayi, leader of the Talakawa Parliament, on Saturday, May 3, 2025, arresting him and five others.
The detentions relate to plans for a Pan-African solidarity rally in support of Burkina Faso’s head of state, Captain Ibrahim Traoré.
Rights groups, civil society actors, and Pan-African advocates have condemned the arrests as an egregious violation of political freedoms.
A source close to Edokpayi told newsmen that, despite complying with police instructions to cancel the rally, security operatives forcibly entered his premises.
“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 proposed demonstration was intended to coincide with similar events across West Africa, including Ghana and South Africa, as part of a broader campaign supporting Captain Traoré’s opposition to French neo-colonial influence.
The Edo State chapter of the Take It Back Movement (TIB) swiftly issued a statement condemning the detentions and 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.”
Signed by Comrade Hafiz Lawal, TIB’s Edo State Coordinator, the group described the arrests as “legally indefensible and morally reprehensible,” accusing security agencies of silencing 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.”
Online, Pan-African activists echoed the outcry. One wrote: “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.”
