#EndSARS promoter Mochievous goes on exile

Modupe Odele

#EndSARS promoter and lawyer Modupe Odele has gone on exile after she faced another round of scrutiny at one of the country’s airports.

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) had in November seized the passport of Odele who is also known as Mochievous on Twitter.

The lawyer was about to board a plane to the Maldives to celebrate her birthday when her passport was seized. It was alleged that the move came at the time the government clamped down on promoters of #EndSARS movement.

However, in a Twitter thread on Thursday, Mochievous said she was going on exile after being told she would face extra scrutiny upon entry or exit from Nigeria.

She wrote: “So shocking that this people stopped me again and took my passport for “secondary clearance” again. Tbh I didn’t think they would even try it. But here we are.

“I had to make a call to be allowed to pass through. And I’m told I’ll always be stopped like that upon entry to or exit from Nigeria. What is my crime again? Providing legal aid? Anyway, this is obviously goodbye to Nigeria for a long time.

“You force me to go on exile from my own country for no crime. I can’t visit and go as I please anymore. What a shame. I would have missed my flight if I didn’t make those calls. Because the person to do the secondary clearance wasn’t ‘on sit.’”

The lawyer said she does not regret supporting the #EndSARS protest, adding “we did a good thing”.

Mochievous provided free legal assistance to protesters who were unjustly arrested by the authorities.

Another #EndSARS promoter DJ Switch who recorded live scenes of the shooting of protesters at Lekki toll gate in Lagos on October 20 has also gone on exile.