LIVE UPDATES
Poland has denied that its nationals who were arrested by security operatives in Kano, Nigeria, were involved in the Russian flag treason.
The Polish nationals were arrested on August 6 in Kano for allegedly displaying Russian flags during the #EndBadGovernance protest held by some Nigerians against economic hardship in the country.
Also arrested were six Spanish nationals.
The spokesperson for the Department of State Services, Peter
Afunanya, at a meeting in Abuja, said the Poles were arrested “because of where they were found during the protests and for displaying foreign flags.”
However, the Polish foreign ministry denied the allegation.
The ministry, according to a Polish international news network, TVP World, said the six students and their lecturer did not participate in the protest but “merely took photos.”
It was reliably gathered that the students and their lecturer were running an exchange programme at the Bayero University, Kano.
The Poles were said to be students of African Studies at the Oriental Studies Faculty, University of Warsaw.
The University of Warsaw Press Officer, Anna Modzelewska, said getting the students released was the top priority of the institution.
Modzelewska was quoted by TVP World as saying, “Freeing the UW [University of Warsaw] students is our priority. We must do everything in our power for that to happen as quickly as possible.”
The Polish government, through its Deputy Foreign Minister, Jakub Wisniewski, had however pleaded with Nigeria to release the detainees.
On if they waved the Russian flag, he said, “I personally find this claim hard to believe. We are urging for their safe return home, where their loved ones are anxiously waiting for them.”
Efforts to speak with the Student Affairs and Quality of Teaching of the university, Professor Sławomir Żółtek, proved abortive.
A former Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Professor Bola Akinterinwa, asked the Polish authorities to be patient.
He said, “The Polish government has to be patient and allow the investigation to be completed. The fact is that the security forces did not go to the school to arrest the students; they were picked up along the street during the protest and it is in the right place for the Nigerian government to investigate.
"It is only after investigation and they (Polish government) feel that the students didn’t get justice that they can intervene. Will they release the foreign students and not release Nigerians arrested?”
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Poland, Omooba Ayoola, has pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to release the six students and their lecturer.
