Nigeria’s secret police sues Utomi over shadow government

The State Security Service (SSS) has sued Prof Pat Utomi over his alleged plan to establish what he called a shadow government in Nigeria, arguing that the move by the politician was intended to create chaos and destabilise the country.

Penpushing reports that the Nigeria’s secret police, in a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) prayed the court to declare the move an attack on the Nigerian Constitution.

The 2007 Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, is sued as a sole defendant in the suit filed by Akinlolu Kehinde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on May 13, 2025   which is marked FHC/ABJ/CS/937/2025.

Penpushing further reports that the suit argued that not only was the planned shadow government an aberration, but that it would constitute a grave attack on the constitution and a threat to the democratically elected government that is currently in place.

The suit expressed concern that such a structure, styled as a shadow government, if left unchecked, may incite political unrest, cause inter-group tensions, and embolden other unlawful actors or separatist entities to replicate similar parallel arrangements, all of which would pose a grave threat to national security.

Penpushing also reports that the plaintiff, urged the court to declare the shadow government or shadow cabinet being planned by Utomi and his associates as unconstitutional and amounts to an attempt to create a parallel authority not recognised by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

The plaintiff in same vein sought a declaration that under Sections 1(1), 1(2) and 14(2)(a) of the Constitution, the establishment or operation of any governmental authority or structure outside the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) is unconstitutional, null, and void.

Penpushing reports that the suit asked the court to issue an order of perpetual injunction, restraining Utomi, his agents and associates from further taking any steps towards the establishment or operation of a shadow government, shadow cabinet or any similar entity not recognised by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”

The plaintiff, in its grounds of argument, hinged its prayers on the fact that Section 1(1) of the Constitution declares its supremacy and binding force on all persons and authorities in Nigeria, emphsising that Section 1(2) prohibits the governance of Nigeria or any part thereof except in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.

Penpushing further reports that the plaintiff stated that Section 14(2Xa) states that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria, from whom the government derives all its powers and authority through the constitution.

The suit equally contended that Utomi’s proposed shadow government lacked constitutional recognition and authority, contravening the abovementioned provisions, and in the supporting affidavit that it is the principal domestic intelligence and security agency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, statutorily mandated to detect and prevent threats to Nigeria’s internal security, including subversive activities capable of undermining national unity, peace, and constitutional order.

Penpushing also reports that the security agency added that it is statutorily empowered to safeguard Nigeria’s internal security and prevent threats to the lawful authority of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its constituent institutions.

The agency stated that it has monitored, through intelligence reports and open-source material, public statements and interviews granted by Utomi, (defendant) in which he announced the purported establishment of what he termed a shadow government or shadow cabinet, comprising of several persons that make up its Minister.

“The ‘shadow government’ or ‘shadow cabinet’ is an unregistered and unrecognised body claiming to operate as an alternative government, contrary to the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)’.

‘The defendant (Utomi), through public statements, social media, and other platforms, has announced the formation of this body with the intent to challenge the legitimacy of the democratically elected government of Nigeria’, the plaintiff said.

“While inaugurating the ‘shadow cabinet’, the defendant stated that it is made up of the Ombudsman and Good Governance portfolio to be manned by Dele Farotimi; the Policy Delivery Unit Team consisting of Oghene Momoh, Cheta Nwanze, Daniel Ikuonobe, Halima Ahmed, David Okonkwo and Obi Ajuga; and the council of economic advisers.

“Based on the intelligence gathered by the plaintiff, the activities and statements made by the defendant and his associates are capable of misleading segments of the Nigerian public, weakening confidence in the legitimacy of the elected government, and fuelling public disaffection’, the agency said.

Penpushing reports that State Security Service (SSS) disclosed that in the discharge of its statutory duties, it had gathered intelligence confirming that the defendant’s actions pose a clear and present danger to Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.

“The defendant’s actions amount to an attempt to usurp or mimic executive authority, contrary to Sections 1(1), 1(2), and 14(2Xa) of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended), which exclusively vests governance in institutions duly created under the constitution and through democratic elections’.

‘The Federal Government of Nigeria has made several efforts to engage the defendant to dissuade him from this unconstitutional path, including statements made by the Minister of Information, but the defendant has remained defiant’

Penpushing further reports that Nigeria’s secret police said it would be in the interest of justice, national security and the rule of law for the court to declare the existence and operations of the defendant unconstitutional and illegal.

Meanwhile, as at the time of filing this report the suit is yet to be assigned to any judge for hearing, however, a shadow government is a practice, mostly in a parliamentary system of government, where opposition politicians come together to form an imaginary government with the intent of influencing the policies and actions of the government in power, while it is recalled that Nigerian once practiced a parliamentary system, shortly after independence from Britain in 1960.

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