Povey, who has resided in Nigeria for over two decades, expressed shock over claims associating him with terrorism and the war in Sudan.
Drew Povey, the owner of Iva Valley Books, a bookstore located on the second floor of the Paschal Bafyau Labour House, the headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has denied receiving any official invitation from the Nigeria Police Force amid allegations connecting him to terrorism financing.
Povey, who has resided in Nigeria for over two decades, expressed shock over claims associating him with terrorism and the war in Sudan.
During an interview with the National Record, Povey stated that he travelled out of Nigeria on the night of Sunday, August 4, as planned, for a holiday.
He explained that the bookshop had operated openly for nearly seven years and that security forces had never shown any interest.
"But why should they? We were acting perfectly legally," he said.
Povey said he was surprised when Chris Uyot, a Deputy General Secretary of the NLC, called to inform him that the police and other security officers had raided his bookshop on the second floor of the Labour House.
He expressed disappointment over the manner by which the security forces acted, describing their behaviour as similar to that of a military junta.
Nigerian security operatives on Wednesday, August 7 raided the bookshop, carting away some documents.
Force spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi in an interview on Channels TV said the police “recovered evidence to prove that the suspect is a threat to the nation, the man is a suspected subversive element”.
Subsequently, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero was invited for over alleged terrorism financing and criminal conspiracy.
Ajaero was initially invited by the police authorities to appear on Tuesday, August 20 but he declined to honour the invitation on account that it was too sudden and that he had other official engagements scheduled for the same date.
Legal counsel for NLC, Femi Falana (SAN) had written the police authorities, informing them that his client could only honour the invitation today, August 29, 2024.
Ajaero and his lawyers honoured the police invitation on Thursday and were allowed to go after questioning.
However, when Povey was asked if he had heard the reasons given by the police for the raid, he responded, "Shock and disbelief. It is very strange, after visiting a country for nearly 25 years, to suddenly be accused by the security forces of being an international terrorist and a risk to the state."
He said, "To the best of my knowledge, the police have made no attempt to contact me either before or after they raided my bookshop.
“The allegations made against Helen Batubo are exactly the same as those made against the president of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, and are equally inexplicable.
"We have been provided with no details beyond the letter of invitation from the police (IRT). The letters to Joe Ajaero and Helen Batubo were word-for-word the same, except for their names and addresses."
He added that the police have provided no evidence to support their allegations.
"They cannot have any evidence, as their claims have no basis in fact," he said.
According to him, "Iva Valley Books provided a bookstall at the NLC May Day celebrations in Eagle Square, Abuja, earlier this year and last year”.
H said, “I assisted with this stall. Each time, a DSS officer came, had a look at the bookstall, and greeted us. Beyond that, the officers expressed no interest in myself or my activities."
When asked if the DSS had visited the bookshop before now for inquiries, he said, "No, but they visited our stall at NLC May Day in Eagle Square this year and last year. When my partner, Helen, was being questioned at IRT this (Thursday) afternoon, she was able to meet with Yomi, who works for Iva Valley Books. He is being detained illegally by the police, as he was detained on Monday evening.
"He was badly beaten and is being held in chains. How barbaric is that?"
"I have had no contact with the police. They have given me no information about their allegations beyond the following WhatsApp conversation that I had yesterday and this morning with the team leader at IRT, Mashood."
Povey, however, denied the allegation of being behind the war in Sudan.
"I have no idea where this allegation could have come from. It is true that I worked as a secondary school teacher in what is now Sudan for a year, but this was 45 years ago, and I have not visited the country since then," he said.
He, however, commended the support he had received from the NLC, trade unions, and some civil society organisations.
"They are all embarrassed that an educational institution like Iva Valley Books can be treated like this," he added.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that many materials were taken from Iva Valley bookshop following the recent raid by security agencies on the Labour House.