Category: Daily Trust

A Federal High Court in Abuja has declared unconstitutional the shadow government proposed by the Prof. Pat Utomi-led Big Tent Movement.

Justice James Omotosho, delivering judgement on Monday, ruled that the initiative was alien to Nigeria’s presidential system of government and void under the 1999 Constitution.

‘The Nigerian Constitution makes no room for a shadow government. Therefore, any participation in any government which is unknown to law will be struck down by this court. I hereby declare the formation as void,’ the judge held.

The judge also restrained members of the movement’s Good Governance portfolio and council of economic advisers, including Dele Farotimi, Oghene Momoh, Cheta Nwanze, Daniel Ikuonobe, Halima Ahmed, David Okonkwo and Obi Ajuga, from operating the structure. Efforts by Daily Trust to obtain a reaction from Nana Kazaure, the group’s Shadow Minister for Communication and Public Orientation, proved unsuccessful as she did not respond to calls or messages.

The Department of State Services (DSS), which initiated the suit, argued that sections 1(1), 1(2) and 14(2)(a) of the Constitution uphold the supremacy of the constitution and sovereignty of the people, and that all governmental authority must derive from law.

The DSS had sought, among other reliefs, ‘an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, his agents and associates from taking any steps towards establishing or operating a ‘shadow government’, ‘shadow cabinet’, or any similar entity not recognised by the Constitution.’

To guide the court, eminent legal scholars were invited as amici curiae, including Prof. Ademola Popoola of Obafemi Awolowo University; Prof. Uchefula Chukwumaeze, Vice Chancellor of Imo State University; former NBA president Yakubu Maikyau (SAN); Joseph Daudu (SAN); Joe Gadzama (SAN); Prof. Dakas Dakas (SAN); and Miannaya Essien (SAN).

The shadow government, formally launched by Utomi on May 5, was designed to function like a shadow cabinet common in parliamentary systems. It assigned portfolios to opposition figures, professionals and activists to scrutinise government policies and propose alternatives.

At its unveiling, Utomi described the project as a ‘national emergency response’ aimed at deepening democracy beyond periodic elections. He argued it would serve as an alternative think-tank to highlight policy failures and mobilise citizens to demand accountability.

Lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi was named to head the Ombudsman and Good Governance desk, while Cheta Nwanze, Halima Ahmed, Daniel Ikuonobe and others were given shadow roles. Kazaure, who also serves as Director of Strategic Communication for the Obidient Movement, was appointed Shadow Minister for Communication.

The initiative immediately sparked controversy. Critics maintained that Nigeria’s presidential system does not recognise such arrangements. The DSS warned that the body could confuse citizens, undermine state authority and embolden separatist groups.

On May 13, 2025, the DSS filed suit FHC/ABJ/CS/937/2025 at the Federal High Court, urging the court to declare the Big Tent Coalition Shadow Government (BTCSG) unconstitutional.

In June, Utomi, through his lawyers, opposed the suit, arguing that the shadow government was merely an exercise of citizens’ rights to free speech, free association and political participation. He accused the DSS of attempting to criminalise civic activism and silence dissent.

The newly elected President of the Nigerian Association of Orthodontists (NAO), Prof. Idia Ize-Iyamu, has reaffirmed the association’s commitment to tackling the shortage of specialists in order to improve orthodontic care in Nigeria.

Orthodontics, a specialized branch of dentistry, focuses on correcting misaligned teeth and jaws (malocclusion) using devices such as braces and clear aligners to improve bite, function, and facial aesthetics.

Prof. Ize-Iyamu, who is also the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), made this known in Benin during her acceptance speech after emerging as the association’s 10th national president.

She pledged to prioritise initiatives that would enhance members’ skills, promote best practices, and ultimately improve patient care. ‘We will strive to address the challenge of the shortage of orthodontic services in underserved areas, especially considering that only 74 orthodontists currently serve a population of over 237.5 million,’ she said.

According to her, the association will also focus on promoting excellence in research, technology, and innovation, while exploring new frontiers in orthodontics for the benefit of members and patients.

On her part, the immediate past president of NAO, Dr. Olayinka Adeyinka, expressed confidence that her successor would build on past achievements and take the association to greater heights.

The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has stated that electricity generation on the National Grid has dropped to 3,200 megawatts (MW) due to the industrial action by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).

A statement by NISO said the disruptions by PENGASSAN triggered widespread gas shortages, reducing available generation from over 4,300 MW.

It, however, said it has deployed contingency measures to preserve the stability, security, and reliability of the National Grid through strategic ramp-ups from major hydro stations, contributing over 400 MW of additional output to cushion the shortfall from gas-fired plants.

The statement reads, ‘There are now real-time load adjustments to match available generation with system demand, while preventing a system frequency collapse. While continuous deployment of reactive power compensation and reserve monitoring to safeguard system integrity is strengthened. ‘There is selective load shedding, applied as a last resort, to avert a system-wide collapse and ensure fair power distribution. These timely actions enabled the NISO NCC to minimize the impact of the labour-induced gas shortages, sustain operational security, and maintain supply to critical loads, thereby averting a nationwide blackout.’

The agency assured its commitment to proactive grid management, operational excellence, and the application of best-in-class practices to guarantee a secure and reliable electricity supply for the nation.

Reports of escalating attacks, intimidation and harassment of citizens by governors are becoming too frequent and discomfiting. This is becoming a grave threat to media freedom, freedom of expression, and citizens’ right of access and circulation of information about things around them.

Earlier in September, Hassan Mai-Waya Kangiwa was arrested and handcuffed allegedly on the orders of Governor Nasiru Idris for releasing a viral video showing the deplorable healthcare conditions including patients lying on bare metal beds without mattresses at Kangiwa General Hospital in Kebbi State.

On Wednesday September 24, the Imo State Police Command moved to arraign Chinedu Agu, a lawyer and known critic of Governor Hope Uzodimma. Agu, who was arrested by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police’s X-Squad Unit following a petition by a pro-Uzodinma group, Imo Democratic Alliance.

Imo state Police spokesperson, DSP Henry Okoye, said Agu’s charges bordered on cyberstalking, defamation of character, incitement of civil disturbances, and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace and it is being ‘carried out in accordance with the rule of law and with due respect for his fundamental human rights.’ Others cases include the harassment of Blessing Okonkwo, a freelance broadcast journalist in Anambra State, in July 2025 and the hours-long detention of Ibrahim Garba, a Daily Trust photojournalist in Kano, in August 2025.

In September 2024, Samuel Samuel II was arrested in Plateau State for making a statement that involved the criticism of the governor.

On November 9, 2024, 18-year-old Hamdiyya Sidi was arrested by the Sokoto State Police after she posted a video criticising the state governor, Ahmad Aliyu, over the rampant banditry and neglect of people displaced by insecurity. Though the police said she was not arrested for criticizing the governor but for another incident on November 3, where she allegedly incited some women in a village in Wurno Local Government Area of the state against the governor. Released later, Sidi was on November 13, 2024 kidnapped by gunmen, beaten and pushed out of a moving tricycle and left for dead. She sustained serious injuries.

She was rearrested again and charged in a Sharia court ‘for the use of abusive language and criticisms against constituted authority in the state.’ In addition to this, Sidi also faces charges in regular court for incitement. During a hearing in January, her lawyer, Abba Hikima, said they were stalked, accosted, and intimidated. Sidi last appeared in court in February 2025. Though her case was adjourned to March 13 and 14, 2025, nothing has been heard since then.

In August 2022, Agba Jalingo, a journalist and publisher of Cross River Watch was arrested on allegation of defamation against the sister-in-law of the then Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade. He was later transferred to the Police Criminal Instigation Department in Abuja. Earlier in August 2019, he was arrested on the orders of the Cross River State government and charged with treasonable felony, terrorism and cybercrime for accusing the governor of diverting public funds. He was later discharged and acquitted in March 2022.

In a similar development, a blogger on the Eagles Foresight platform, Bashiru Hammed Adewale Olamilekan was arrested on May 13, 2022 and detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Ogun State for publishing a story relating to purported criminal records of the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun in the United States. He spent over 100 days in detention despite deleting the said publication and tendering an apology to the governor.

What some of the governors are doing are direct attacks on citizens’ right to be part of the vital check on power. They’ve also become a symptom of broader systemic disease that prioritises image over integrity and suppression over solution.

They are direct assaults on Sections 22 and 39 of the Nigerian constitution which mandates the media to uphold the fundamental objectives of the government and ensure the accountability of the government to the people while Section 39 guarantees the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom of the press to hold opinions and impart information and ideas without interference, though there are exceptions for national security and specific professions.

Daily Trust calls on political leaders to end the disconcerting use of state instruments to violate the rights of journalists and other citizens. They should rather challenge such media publications or journalists or citizens with libel or defamation in a court of law instead of criminalizing the Cybercrime Act.

Democracy is not for the benefit of politicians or the connected alone but for all Nigerians. Therefore, we call on the National Assembly to ensure that its Acts are not being used to trample on the rights of the citizens they ought to protect. We also call on the Nigeria Police to note that it is not in their interest to be used against the citizens.

The governors should also note that regional and international human rights organisations are taking notes and using their actions to gauge how the tenets of democratic values are being practiced by our leaders.

There should be no threat to media freedom and democracy, which are anchored on accountability and good governance.

However, while calling on media houses, their reporters and activists to always approach their investigations and advocacies with utmost sense of responsibility, the federal government should order immediate investigations into all such arrests and hold those behind them to account. No attempt should be made to criminalise free speech or shut down any criticisms or circulation of any information not favourable to any political leader or the elite, provided they are true.