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Nigerian security forces have detained seven Polish nationals for displaying Russian flags during protests against economic hardship in the West African nation, Nigerian and Polish authorities said Wednesday.
The Poles were arrested Monday in the northern Kano state “because of where they were found during the protests and for displaying foreign flags,” said Peter Afunanya, a spokesman for the Nigeria secret service, at a meeting of diplomats hosted by Nigeria’s foreign affairs ministry in the capital, Abuja.
Among the Poles arrested were students and a lecturer, the Polish foreign affairs ministry said on X, adding that “The consular service is establishing the exact circumstances of the incident with the local authorities."
Thousands of mostly young Nigerians had poured onto the streets across the country to protest against the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation and against alleged bad governance that has stifled the country’s development despite being a top oil producer.
In several northern states, a few protesters were seen waving Russian flags, a trend that until now was only common in Africa in coup-hit countries where pro-Russian sentiments are growing off the back of coups by militaries severing ties with the West.
The Nigerian secret service spokesman did not say if the Poles being detained participated in the protests when they were arrested.
In response to a question by a Polish diplomat about their whereabouts, Afunanya said the agency was open to working with Poland on the issue.
“It is not a targeted operation at Polish citizens,” he said.
The Nigerian secret service had said Monday that it had arrested the tailors sewing the Russian flags as well as those “sponsoring” them.
Analysts have said the trends of waving Russian flags during protests, seen for the first time in Nigeria, could be dangerous, and shows just how far anti-Western and pro-Russian sentiments have grown in parts of Africa.
In one viral video from Kano state, a protester who looked to be in his teenage years held a Russian flag beside a placard that read: “Russia come and help us.”
Nigeria’s military chief Christopher Musa said such acts constitute treason, which is punishable by death in the country and is defined by Nigerian laws as any act that among other things “instigate(s) any foreigner to invade Nigeria with an armed force.”
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