Afrobeat Artist Zunday Condemns Arrest of Edo Students, Calls for Accountability | ClipTV Online

Zunday, the stage name of Ajakaiye Sunday, an Edo born Afrobeat singer and youth voice, speaks out against the continued detention of the 52 students arrested in Edo State and against the deeper injustice that led to the protest in the first place.

The protest did not happen in a vacuum. It was born out of pain, fear and long standing frustration. Edo State has witnessed repeated cases of kidnapping, killings, growing insecurity and poor infrastructure. Roads are unsafe. Communities live in fear. Families sleep with anxiety. For too long, the cries of the people have been met with silence.

When a government fails to act decisively against insecurity, when citizens feel abandoned and unheard, people will eventually come out to express their anger and frustration. That expression is not rebellion. It is desperation.

Peaceful protest is a constitutional right. It is a last resort when dialogue appears ignored. If the right actions had been taken earlier, if the safety of lives had been prioritized, these young people would not have felt the need to take to the streets.

It is therefore deeply troubling that the response to public frustration has been mass arrests. The same power that should be used to protect citizens from kidnappers and killers is now being exercised against students and young people. This raises a serious moral question. Why is it when the people cry out that authority suddenly becomes strong against them?

The arrest and continued detention of 52 students, including those reportedly picked up from hostels and homes, sends the wrong message. It suggests that venting anger against hardship is more dangerous than the hardship itself.

These students are not enemies of the state. They are victims of the same insecurity they protested against. They are part of the future this nation claims to protect.

Zunday calls on His Excellency Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State to listen to the voice of the people, address the root causes of the protest and ensure that innocent students are not punished for government failures.

Zunday also calls on His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and remind all arms of government that democracy survives on listening, not intimidation.

Zunday further calls on Senator Adams Oshiomhole to rise as a son of Edo State and stand with the people at this critical moment. Leadership demands speaking when silence becomes injustice.

This is not a call for disorder. It is a call for accountability. It is a call for governance that responds before anger boils over.

A government that truly serves its people does not fear their voices.

Zunday stands with the 52 students.

Zunday stands with the suffering people of Edo State.

Zunday stands for justice and accountability.

Signed
Ajakaiye Sunday
Afrobeat Artist
Stage name Zunday