DSM BRANCH ORGANISER’S HOUSE BURGLED

Call for support

The Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) condemns in totality the criminal and malicious attacks on its Ajegunle, Lagos, branch coordinator and leading member, Comrade Moshood Adebola Oshunfurewa, by yet to be identified armed robbers. The yet-to-identified perpetrators broke into his apartment through the window on December 15th, 2020 at about 3:45am, just two days after the organization’s successful National Committee (NC) meeting. The robbers carted away one Lenovo Laptop, two hard drives, two phones (of which one belonged to his wife), laptop bag containing ATM, N34,000 and some of his valuable documents and that of the organization.

This, to us, is one of the numerous features of the volatile state of insecurity and criminality that has become the order of the day under the Buhari APC government like obtained in the past regimes. It is instructive that a few days before the burglary, gang violence had broken out on the same street with at least two dead. This social crisis arises from the anti-poor, capitalist policies that have taken unemployment to a high level, deteriorated living conditions of the workers and downthrown, increased job losses, and youth restiveness. This is aside the profiling of youths by the police to extort, and the failure of the capitalist government to address the basic needs of the working people and the poor in the communities.

While he reported on the same day to the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), we recognise the huge limitation of the police as they are largely limited by the corrupt capitalist system to protect a tiny few against the vast majority that the greedy state has left hapless. For instance, the NPF whose staff strength is around 370,000, has over half its staff protecting corrupt politicians and business tycoons and their immediate family members. This inequality means that the working people and poor are vulnerable to armed robbers, rapists, ritualists and kidnappers without police protection.

Again, we demand that the NPF launch a comprehensive investigation to bring to book the criminals as this may not be unconnected to the handiwork of political adversaries and the fact that Comrade Moshood has been an unrepentant revolutionary, a Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) candidate, who stood for the 2019 Lagos State House of Assembly, Ajeromi-Ifelodun Constituency II and is one of the prominent organizers of community resistance against electricity estimated billing, police brutality and other obnoxious taxes and policies of the government.

This burglary, money and phones stolen mean further personal difficulties for the comrade and his family especially at a period of growing deprivation owing to the unfolding capitalist economic crisis. Politically, the loss of the laptop, hard drives and other organisational materials is a setback for our work and campaigns in the community. Meanwhile, it is our work of organising the community to unite and fight back against exploitation and oppression as well as struggle for socialism that can provide a way out for the poor youth bogged down in a life of drugs, crime and gang violence. Hence, our appeal for support so that our work can go on despite this unfortunate incident.

For the purpose of replacing some of the stolen items, we would be glad to receive any support from individuals and groups including working class people, radical youth, activists, our collaborators in the community, trade unions and pro-masses’ organisations. Please direct all inquiries on how to help to: 07033775517, 08134771300.

By Chinedu Bosah

DSM NEC