The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC), a human rights advocacy group, has called for the immediate and unconditional release of Nurse Abiodun Olamide Thomas, an activist arrested in Lagos State on Friday morning by the Nigeria Police Force. According to reports, the arrest was carried out on the orders of the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
Nurse Thomas, popularly known as “Horlarmidey Africano,” was reportedly apprehended due to her criticism of police misconduct and comments made by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi. In a statement signed by its National Secretary, Francis Nwapa, the YRC condemned the police for what it described as a continued clampdown on dissenting voices and harassment of citizens.
Nwapa remarked, “We strongly condemn the persistent and vindictive harassment of Nurse Abiodun Thomas by the Nigeria Police Force. For months, she has been targeted for her outspoken stance against police brutality and high-handedness.”
He highlighted that Thomas was among the protesters brutalized by the police during the fourth commemoration of the Lekki Toll Gate massacre on October 20, 2024. Since then, her criticisms of police actions have reportedly made her a target, with her family and friends also being harassed in attempts to intimidate her.
The statement detailed how, just a day before her arrest, Thomas’s uncle was allegedly blindfolded and taken to the Lagos State Police Command. The following morning, Thomas herself was arrested and detained at the same location. The YRC described these actions as a misuse of state resources to suppress dissent, urging the police to end what it called “impunity” and release her immediately.
In November, Thomas raised alarms about her safety, accusing ACP Adejobi of orchestrating efforts to silence her. She claimed her only “crime” was participating in the #EndSARS memorial protest on October 20, during which she was brutalized, her money was stolen in custody, and her phone was destroyed.
Thomas also revealed that Adejobi had allegedly deployed the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) to track her down. She noted that the officer had accused her of bullying Nigerians, including himself, on social media and demanded that she surrender herself to the police. In a recent exchange, Adejobi reportedly vowed to deal with her for “bullying him.”
The YRC has called on the Nigerian Police to stop using state apparatus to pursue personal vendettas and to respect citizens’ rights to free expression and peaceful protest.
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Chronicles Reporters.