Nigeria Detains Tailor Who Made Russian Flag Raised During Anti-Government Protest
JAKARTA - Nigeria has arrested several tailors for making Russian flags that were flown during anti-government protests this week in the northern state.
The Department of Foreign Service (DSS) also said in a post on X that it had also arrested some of the tailors' "sponsors," without elaborating.
Reuters reported on Tuesday, August 6, that an investigation was underway. However, it did not mention how many tailors or sponsors were detained.
Nigeria's Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Musa, called the raising of foreign flags during anti-government protests a treasonous offense after he held security talks with President Bola Tinubu on Monday.
"We have identified those (who sponsored them) and we will take serious action against them," Musa told reporters.
Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians have been protesting since August 1 against Tinubu's economic reforms that have resulted in the end of some petrol and electricity subsidies, a currency devaluation and inflation hitting a three-decade high.
The protests have now subsided after a deadly police crackdown.
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In the northern states of Borno, Kaduna, Kano and Katsina, protesters were seen waving hundreds of Russian flags and some calling for a military takeover.
“We are waving Russian flags because the Tinubu administration is not listening to us. The Russian president has always supported the development of African countries, unlike other countries,” Lawal Kodo, a 28-year-old protester in Kano, told Reuters on Monday.
The Russian Embassy in Nigeria, meanwhile, denied any involvement.
“The government of the Russian Federation and any Russian officials are not involved in these activities and do not coordinate them in any way,” the embassy said in a statement issued Monday evening.
The protests in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, come amid growing Western concerns over Russia’s security ties to the region, including countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger where military leaders have seized power in coups.