Edokpayi had planned the rally to show support for Burkina Faso’s revolutionary leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré…but called off the protest after a meeting with the police commissioner.
Operatives of Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) on Saturday, May 3, 2025, arrested Comrade Kola Edokpayi, a Marxist activist and convener of the Talakawa Parliament, over a proposed Pan-African solidarity rally in Benin City, Edo State.
Edokpayi had planned the rally to show support for Burkina Faso’s revolutionary leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré. According to sources, he called off the protest after a meeting with the police commissioner, but was later arrested alongside others by security operatives who stormed his office. Four individuals were released, but Edokpayi and one other remain in custody.
The Take It Back Movement (TIB) condemned the arrest, calling it “legally indefensible and morally reprehensible.” In a statement signed by Edo State Coordinator Comrade Hafiz Lawal, TIB said, “This blatant act of political repression is not only unlawful but a direct attack on the constitutional rights of Nigerian citizens.”
Civil society groups and Pan-Africanists have also denounced the detention. One activist wrote online, “Pan-Africanism shouldn’t be killed; it should be encouraged by all African countries. Kola has done nothing wrong for standing for Africa.”
Rights advocates are now demanding Edokpayi’s immediate and unconditional release.