On Monday, September 2, the Nigeria Police Force, NPF accused a foreign national, British born Andrew Wynne of plotting a regime change in the country
On Monday, September 2, the Nigeria Police Force, NPF accused a foreign national, British born Andrew Wynne of plotting a regime change in the country. He was declared wanted for setting up a network of sleeper cells to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s government and plunge the nation into chaos.
Sleeper cells are terrorist cells whose members work undercover in an area until sent into action.
The police said Wynne rented a space at the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC headquarters in Abuja for a bookshop he operates.
Some days after the raid on the NLC House, the inspector-general of police, said the mastermind of the Sudan conflict was traced to the building.
“Documentary evidence and confessions revealed that Andrew Wynne issued directives, monitored progress, provided finance and operational guidance to achieve unconstitutional regime change in Nigeria. He mobilized and deployed several billions of naira to his Nigerian collaborators, urging them to mobilize the public to violently storm police facilities and military barracks, anticipating a bloodbath that will instigate international condemnation of the Nigerian government. These acts are in clear violation of the Terrorism Prevention Act 2011 and other relevant laws,” the police said.
Wynne has now been placed on global surveillance after fleeing the country since investigations began.
The declaration came weeks after police officers raided the Labour House in the Central Business District of Abuja amid a 10-day #Endbadgovernance nationwide protest which kicked off on August 1.
Here are a few things to know about Wynne
- No one knows his real name because there are about three variations of his name: Drew Povey, Andrew Povich and Andrew Wynne, according to the police. His last names appear to have Russian twists. Wynne has hinted that his real name is not in the public domain and that he operates with a nickname. He however claims that Andrew Wynne is the name on his passport and that claims that he goes under the name of Andrew Povich, a Russian sounding name, is false.
- Wynne claims to have one nationality, Britain.
- Wynne operates a book shop in Abuja called Iva Valley Books from where he does his political education work. It is located at the Labour House and has a stock range of socialist, economics and environmental books. The name of the bookstore appears to be drawn from the killing of 21 striking coalminers on November 18, 1949, at the Iva Valley mines, Enugu, according to an article written by Socialist Workers League, and published on the bookstore’s website. However, the Nigerian Police are of the opinion that the bookshop is a cover for his subversive activities.
- Wynne claims he does political education work with the bookshop that he operates in Abuja. The political education work Wynne referred to, centers around public financial management mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, as detailed on his LinkedIn page which reads: “Andy is now a free-lance consultant in sub-Saharan Africa, concentrating on advising and research on public financial management in Nigeria since early 2015.”
- He is a senior lecturer at the University of Leicester as detailed on his LinkedIn page which also states;”………this he has been combined with his fractional contract with the School of Management, University of Leicester.”
The university did confirm that Wynne is indeed a lecturer in the institution and an Honorary Associate Professor at the university. According to the university, an honorary associate professor is not a permanent member of staff and the role is unpaid. - Wynne is also a researcher, and his research interests includes identifying existing good practice within public financial management in sub-Saharan Africa.
“He is currently researching the development of financial reporting standards in the Nigerian public sector and the most appropriate approach for internal audit. He is finalising papers on the adoption of the Cash Basis International Public Sector Accounting Standards, IPSAS in Nepal and the independence of the two main audit bodies in Franco-phone Africa, the General State Inspectorate and the Court of Accounts,” his LinkedIn bio added. - Wynne is an advisor to African governments on accounting, finance and audit reforms with affiliations to the military as well, as stated in his LinkedIn bio.
- He operates a school in Nasarawa State, Stars of Nations School where his wife, Helen Batubo is the school principal. The police claim that the school is one of his cover ups for his subversive activities. But in a curious twist, senior advocate of Nigeria and human rights lawyer, Femi Falana described Batubo as Wynne’s stepdaughter.
Speaking further in an interview, Wynne said he is more than happy to talk to the police.
“I am not aware that I am a fugitive. I left the country on August 4 for vacation. I am not aware that I am running away from the law. I am more than happy to talk to the police. I’m more than happy to have a discussion on WhatsApp, on Zoom. I’m more than happy to go to London and meet with officials from the Nigerian High Commission if they want to start the conversation,” he said.
“I’ve been visiting Nigeria for 25 years. I’ve had a bookshop in the NLC office right in the center of Abuja for seven years and all that time, of course, the security forces have paid no interest in me,” Wynne added, while expressing confusion at the sudden scrutiny.
His whereabouts is currently unknown. He did not reveal his current location when he granted an interview. He also said that claims that he left Nigeria for Russia are false.
