Nigeria’s secret police, SSS, has sued Pat Utomi, a Nigerian politician and professor of political economy, over his alleged plan to establish what he called “a shadow government” in the country. The SSS, in a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, asked the court to declare the move an attack on the Nigerian Constitution.
The SSS contended that the move by Mr. Utomi was intended to create chaos and destabilize the country. It argued that the planned “shadow government” would constitute a grave attack on the constitution and a threat to the democratically elected government. The agency expressed concern that such a structure, if left unchecked, may incite political unrest, cause inter-group tensions, and embolden other unlawful actors or separatist entities to replicate similar parallel arrangements.
The plaintiff urged the court to declare the “shadow government” or “shadow cabinet” being planned by Mr. Utomi and his associates as “unconstitutional and amounts to an attempt to create a parallel authority not recognized by the Constitution.” The SSS also 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 is unconstitutional, null, and void.
The SSS asked the court to issue an order of perpetual injunction, restraining Mr. Utomi, his agents, and associates from further taking any steps towards the establishment or operation of a “shadow government” or any similar entity not recognized by the Constitution. The suit is yet to be assigned to any judge for hearing.
The SSS argued that Mr. Utomi’s proposed shadow government lacked constitutional recognition and authority, contravening the provisions of the Constitution. It stated that it has monitored, through intelligence reports and open-source material, public statements and interviews granted by Mr. Utomi, in which he announced the purported establishment of the “shadow government.”
The SSS claimed that Mr. Utomi’s actions pose a clear and present danger to Nigeria’s constitutional democracy and amount to an attempt to usurp or mimic executive authority. The agency 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.
