The department of State service, (DSS) has arrested seven Polish nationals for raising Russian flags during anti-government protests this week in the northern state of Kano, Peter Afunanya, the spokesperson for the state security service, said on Wednesday.
Many Nigerians took to the streets since August 1, protesting against President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms that have seen, what some Nigerians regard as a partial end to petrol and electricity subsidies, currency devaluation and inflation touching three-decade highs.
The protests which turned deadly in some states, particularly in the northern region have witnessed 22 people allegedly killed so far during demonstrations.
Amnesty International said, more protesters may have been killed in Kano.
During the Protests, some protesters, in the northern states, waved Russian flags, underscoring concerns about increased Russian activity in western Africa.
ALSO READ:Security Operatives Raid NLC Headquarters, Cart Away Documents
Already some of the tailors, who allegedly sowed the flags are currently being detained by the Security services.
Afunanya said the Poles were detained during efforts by the Department of State Services to enforce security. He gave no details as to who they were, but said the operations were not targeting Polish citizens.
Stanislaw Gulinski, the Polish consul to Nigeria, confirmed the arrests at a meeting between Nigeria’s foreign minister and diplomats in the capital, Abuja.
“They were arrested two days ago in Kano and last I heard, they were on the plane to Abuja from Kano,” he said.
Gulinski declined to comment further when approached by Reuters.
“The Abuja (diplomatic post) was informed about the arrest of a group of Polish students and a lecturer in Kano, northern Nigeria,” the Polish foreign ministry wrote on social media platform X.
“The consular service is establishing the exact circumstances of the incident with the local authorities in order to support our citizens. The ministry of foreign affairs remains in contact with the families of those detained.”
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has called the brandishing of a foreign flag during anti-government protests as a “treasonable offence” after he held security talks with President Bola Tinubu on Monday.
In the northern states of Borno, Kaduna, Kano and Katsina, protesters were seen waving hundreds of Russian flags, with some calling for a military takeover.
The Russian embassy in Nigeria denied any involvement.
