EndSARS: Seun Kuti vows to launch mass movement as police threaten to shut down New Afika Shrine

Afrobeat singer, Seun Anikulapo-Kuti, says he will go ahead and launch his mass movement called the ‘Movement of the People’ despite a threat by the police to shut down Afrika Shrine where the meeting of various organizations involved in the movement  was billed to take place on Tuesday.

Government had threatened to close the African shrine if he proceeded with the #EndSARS movement meeting he planned for Tuesday.

The singer took to his social media accounts to raise the alarm that the police had threatened to shut down the New Afrika Shrine due to his planned mass meeting.

It was learnt that the singer had sent out flyers announcing a mass meeting tagged; #EndSARS Movement: Lessons and Tasks which was scheduled to hold today at the New Afrika Shrine.

However, the singer shared snapshots of a letter the Nigeria Police Force, Alausa Division sent to the New Afrika Shrine dated November 16, 2020.

The letter read in part, “You are hereby warned to suspend such gathering as any infraction that may emerge from this gathering will be tagged a deliberate action to sabotage the transition and restoration of the peace in Lagos State by the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Police Force.”

Reacting to the development, Seun said via his Instagram page, “So yesterday the government called my eldest sister @yeniakuti and threatened to close the shrine if I hold my event there tomorrow and also sent a letter to back it up.

“I respect my family’s decision not to hold the event as it is but I will still go ahead with all the other organizations to launch THE MOVEMENT OF THE PEOPLE tomorrow and start our political resistance to the tyranny of this oppressive regime.

“Slide left and you will see the flyer.

“This is a meeting, just a meeting of organisations and they are basically banning the right of association.

“Why are they afraid of the people organising? What is democratic about this act? The last time we tried to launch, the government quickly called curfew and this time they have used threat but you can’t stop the will of the people. #getthesax #liberationgeneration #wenodoagain #endoppression.”