“They are lying, I have not committed any crime; as a consequence, they have no evidence against me,” declared Mr. Drew Povey, a British citizen and owner of a popular bookshop in Nigeria, in an exclusive interview with The Metrong. Povey refuted the Nigerian police’s allegations that he aided #EndBadGovernance protesters with the intent to destabilize the country. He described these claims as baseless and part of a deliberate attempt by the government to target him as a foreign agitator. “The police have been instructed by the government through the National Security Adviser to get the foreign agitators, and they found me,” Povey said, suggesting that the authorities are more interested in scapegoating foreigners than addressing the real issues raised by the protests.
Povey, who was recently declared wanted by the Nigerian police, maintained that the authorities have no genuine interest in questioning him. “I have a WhatsApp conversation that I started with the head of the team at IRT, and they didn’t ask me any questions,” he revealed, pointing out the lack of evidence or formal engagement from the police.
When asked about the police’s claim that he fled Nigeria to avoid arrest, Povey dismissed it as another lie. “Almost every sentence from the police is a lie. No, why should I flee the country?” he asked. He explained that his recent departure from Nigeria was part of his regular travel schedule. “I come to Nigeria for a month at a time, so I bought a ticket maybe in May to get to Nigeria at the beginning of July and to return to Britain at the beginning of August, and that was what I did. I did not flee; there is no reason to flee, apart from the threats from the state to my friends and my family.”
Povey emphasized that he had never been contacted or invited by the Nigerian police for questioning or any other purpose. “For what? Of course not. They have no interest in me, they have no evidence against me, they never tried to contact me or detain me,” he insisted. He pointed out that during his time in Nigeria, several arrests were made, yet there was no attempt to detain him. “They detained, I mean in terms of the ten people that are detained in Kuje prison, Eleojo Opeoluwa was detained twenty hours before I left the country; they have more than enough time to detain me and anything else,” he explained.
The Nigerian police recently released a video declaring Povey wanted, accusing him of enabling the #EndBadGovernance protests, which have become a significant movement against perceived government failures and police brutality in Nigeria. Povey’s bookshop was subsequently raided and sealed by authorities, a move that has sparked outrage among civil rights organizations and the public. The police allege that Povey played a significant role in facilitating the protests and acted with the intent to destabilize the country.
These developments come amid heightened tensions in Nigeria, where the government has faced accusations of cracking down on dissent and using state security forces to suppress freedom of expression. The #EndBadGovernance protests, which initially targeted the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), have evolved into a broader call for systemic change in Nigeria’s governance. The government’s action of declaring a foreign national wanted marks a significant escalation in its efforts to quell what it perceives as foreign involvement in the protests.
Povey argued that the government’s focus on finding a “foreign organizer, foreign leader, a foreign financer of the protest” is misplaced and reflects an attempt to divert attention from the protesters’ legitimate grievances. “The federal government have instructed the office of the National Security Adviser to find a foreign organizer, foreign leader, a foreign financer of the protest, and the only person they can find is me,” he remarked.
As the situation unfolds, Povey remains steadfast in his denial of any wrongdoing and insists that he is being unfairly targeted. Human rights groups have called for a transparent investigation into the government’s actions and urged the international community to take a stand. The questions remain: Is this an attempt to silence perceived threats from foreign sympathizers, or is there a legitimate case against Mr. Povey? For now, all eyes are on the Nigerian government and its next steps.
