A renowned political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, has threatened to institute a N500 billion lawsuit against President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, over an allegation linking him to planned nationwide protests against the government
This follows Onanuga’s recent post on the X Platform (formerly Twitter), where he accused Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, and his supporters, of orchestrating nationwide protests against economic hardship in Nigeria.
Onanuga’s post suggested that Peter Obi and his supporters, known as Obidients, are planning to incite anarchy through protests targeting issues such as hunger, naira devaluation, and general economic woes. He alleged that these protests would be similar to the ENDSARS demonstrations of 2020, which were initially against police brutality but were allegedly hijacked by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for their separatist agenda.
In his detailed post, Onanuga said, “Obi should be held responsible for anarchy. Don’t be fooled: the malcontents planning to stage nationwide protests are supporters of Peter Obi, the failed presidential candidate of the Labour Party. And he should be held responsible for whatever crisis emanates from the action.
“The protest planners are also the same people who were instigated by IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu to launch the destructive ENDSARS protest in Nigeria in October 2020. ENDSARS began as a genuine protest by youths against the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad, notorious for its high-handedness. IPOB members planning to extricate the South East region from Nigeria infiltrated the protest and hijacked it for their own agenda. Lagos still bears the scar of the malicious destruction by IPOB elements until today. Two years after ENDSARS, the IPOB and the gullible innocents joined the Labour Party in 2022 to support Peter Obi, a sympathiser of their cause. They are the people spreading the hashtags ‘EndBadGovernance’, ‘Tinubu Must Go,’ and ‘Revolution2024’. They are not democrats but anarchists. They are attempting to call out our people via propaganda because their Messiah, Peter Obi, failed to win the Presidency in the 2023 election. As bad losers, they don’t have the patience to wait for another election in 2027; they would rather destabilise Nigeria by staging a civilian coup against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. If they understand the meaning of their hashtags, they will realise they are clarion calls for treason. Wanting to end an elected government is high treason. Wanting revolution is a call for a coup d’etat, which is also high treason. I have been on the trail of one of the protest planners, who is nameless but claims to have an internet radio station, PTM100.88 Abuja.”
In response, Utomi advised Onanuga to retract his statements or provide concrete evidence supporting his claims. He warned that failure to do so would result in a lawsuit with a ₦500 billion claim for defamation, fake news, and intent to incite state violence against an innocent citizen.
Utomi’s full statement read, “My attention has been drawn to a statement by Mr. Bayo Onauga, a spokesman for the presidency alleging that I have been a key player in demonstrations viewed as insurrection. Let me state first and foremost that I have no problem with protests. They are legitimate sources of feedback in a democracy. I have participated in several during military rule alongside some of those now in government. My reaction to Onanuga’s statement has therefore nothing to do with the legitimacy of the demonstrations but with the deliberate and outright falsehood of the statement.
“First, I have been living in the United States for several months now and was actually unaware of threats of demonstrations so I could not have been part of something I did not know was in the works. As a student of the State in post-Colonial Africa. I am horrified that agents of the State can fabricate deliberate falsehood. As I know phones are bugged there should at least be evidence of some contact between me and these ostensible demonstration planners. They do not even need to produce the conversation to show evidence but just a thread of contacts. If no evidence of Mr. Onanuga’s false assertion is shown I will assume it reasonable that the object is to water the ground for false treasonable felony charges that can result in the claim of one’s life. I intend to therefore proceed to the international criminal and other human rights courts if a reasonable explanation is not forthcoming. I will also have no choice but to institute a claim of ₦500 Billion for of fake news, hate speech and intent to procure State murder of an innocent citizen. If judicial capture makes justice problematic in Nigeria I expect that I can trust extra-national institutions and global human solidarity. As one who survived two assassination attempts under Abacha of which there is public court records when some of those now in power were my colleague freedom advocates I am clear they know the consequence of their plotting. I have in a reaction on X already indicated that I meant to ignore the false assertion but I have been advised of a more sinister motive of State terror that should not be allowed to go unchallenged. In the plan apparently being instigated by Mr. Onanuga.”
The ongoing dispute highlights significant tensions within Nigeria’s political landscape as the nation grapples with severe economic challenges and differing political ideologies.
