From Victor Osula, Abuja
Renowned political economist, Professor Pat Utomi, has declared his readiness to face legal proceedings over his proposed plan to declare a shadow government, saying he will arrive in Nigeria on June 12 and head straight to the residence of the late MKO Abiola.
In a statement on Friday, Utomi said a group of individuals is mobilising 500 lawyers to defend him in the suit filed against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The DSS had filed a case against Utomi at the Federal High Court in Abuja, accusing him of attempting to destabilise the country through the proposed establishment of a shadow government. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/937/2025 and filed on May 13 by Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), argues that Utomi’s plan is a threat to Nigeria’s constitutional order.
Reacting to the development via a post on his X account, the former presidential candidate expressed gratitude for the show of solidarity from Nigerians, saying the attempt to criminalise civic engagement signals the decline of democracy in the country.
“I am heartened by messages of solidarity from across Nigeria on this shadowy business of chasing shadows of shadow cabinets. Reminds me of the Nigeria I used to know,” Utomi wrote.
He added, “I want to thank all. It’s energising. Some want to put together 500 lawyers to defend me against the DSS.
“It was put as a question: Is this how democracy dies in Nigeria? The answer is in the affirmative. This is how democracy died in Nigeria—when citizens cannot organise themselves to ask questions of their agents.
“Under Abacha, we brought Nigerians together at St. Leo in Ikeja for a conference on the future of Nigeria. I chaired the planning, which came out of the Catholic Secretariat under then Fr. Kukah and Ehusani. Now, for shadowing democracy, hell comes.”
Declaring his willingness to submit to arrest, Utomi said, “Where am I? I will arrive on June 12 and head to Abiola’s residence. My hands are primed for handcuffs, and if the Aquino treatment from Marcos—a bullet at the airport—is preferred, I submit willingly like a lamb led to the slaughter.
“What is certain is that Tinubu will not escape the same fate. He may have been in London when I faced the assassins under Abacha and was the supplier to Chief Enahoro and NADECO abroad of reports of my position on matters of the struggle. But we all ultimately go the way of man.”
Utomi also invoked the memory of global icons of civil resistance, including Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and St. Thomas More.
“I raise the meaning of being for what is left of my time on this stage,” he said.
Quoting astronomer Carl Sagan, Utomi reflected on the fragility of life and power: “A speck of dust, home to tyrants who have threatened rivers of blood; and also to all those we have loved. I am emboldened to chant: Freedom now. If we die, we die.”
