News
SSS Seeks Ban On Utomi’s Anti-Tinubu Rallies
The SSS is accusing Mr Utomi, the 2007 presidential candidate of ADC, of planning to establish “a shadow government” in Nigeria.
The State Security Service filed a fresh application against Pat Utomi on Wednesday at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, over his alleged plans to hold rallies related to the subject of a suit pending against him.
The SSS, in an application filed through its lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, before Justice James Omotosho, requested that the court restrain Mr Utomi and his associates from making further public comments or engaging in rallies in relation to a planned “shadow government” formation.
The SSS had, earlier, dragged Mr Utomi, the 2007 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, before the court over his alleged plan to establish “a shadow government” in Nigeria.
The security agency, in the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/937/2025, prayed the court to declare the move an attack on the constitution, and the judge had fixed June 25 for the hearing.
Meanwhile, the fresh motion filed before the judge was in response to reports that Mr Utomi, reportedly abroad, had planned to engage in protests, road shows, media interviews, and related activities upon his return to the country on June 6.
In the application filed on Wednesday, the SSS sought one relief.
The SSS prayed for an order of interlocutory injunction, restraining the defendant/respondent (Mr Utomi) and his agents from staging road shows, rallies, public lectures, or any form of public gathering, as well as from publishing in newspapers, producing television programmes, creating jingles, or engaging in any other public enlightenment programme.
The SSS, in its grounds of application, argued that, if not restrained, Mr Utomi’s proposed rallies, road shows, and actions would “constitute a serious threat to the public order, safety and national unity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria“.
The security agency stated that it was statutorily empowered to safeguard the country’s internal security and prevent any threats to the country and its constituent institutions, thereby forestalling any threat to public order, safety, and national unity.
The secret police stated that before filing the substantive suit, Mr Utomi, a professor of Political Economy, had, through public statements, social media, and other platforms, engaged in statements and actions aimed at undermining the outcome of the case now pending before the court, which he is aware of.
The SSS said it gathered through monitoring and intelligence reports that Mr Utomi planned “to stage road shows and rallies under the guise of freedom of speech and association in a bid to cause public discontent in furtherance of his establishment of the purported ‘shadow government/shadow cabinet’”.
The secret police alleged that Mr Utomi’s intention “is to stage roadshows and rallies that are capable of drawing a large number of Nigerians with intent that will cause huge disruption of peace, breakdown of public order, and enable riots and violent protests just as the recent” #EndSARS protests in 2020.
“All the planned protests, riots and agitations that will ensue if the purported actions of the defendant/respondent are not stayed may lead to mayhem with a potential for anarchy and loss of lives and property.
“The proposed allies, road shows and actions of the defendant/respondent constitute a serious threat to the public order, safety and national unity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the SSS further told the judge.
The SSS stated that on May 26, during the fourth edition of the Topaz Lecture Series hosted by the University of Lagos Mass Communication Class of 1988 Alumni Association, Mr Utomi made statements capable of undermining the pending suit.
It added that in the statements, widely publicised in newspapers and on social media platforms, Mr Utomi defended the creation of the purported shadow government and further stated that if the suit succeeded in favour of the SSS, he and his group would adopt a different name.
The agency added that Mr Utomi had been served with the originating process in this suit and had entered an appearance through his counsel, Mike Ozekhome, as of 20 May 2025.
“Unless this honourable court intervenes by granting this application, the defendant/respondent’s acts may foist a fait accompli on the court. It is in the interest of justice, national security, and the rule of law for this honourable court to grant this application,” the SSS stated.
Gazzetengr.com
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has emerged winner of the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary election in Kano state
The returning officer, Professor Muhammad Waziri of Bayero University, declared Garba Ya’u Gwarmai of the APC winner with 31,472 votes
Waziri defeated the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Yusuf Ali Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has secured victory in the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary election held in Kano state.
Announcing the results on Sunday morning, August 17, the returning officer (RO), Professor Muhammad Waziri from Bayero University, declared APC candidate Garba Gwarmai the winner with a total of 31,472 votes.
He defeated the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Yusuf Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes, according to The Punch.
The supplementary poll was conducted after the initial election in the constituency was declared inconclusive. With a margin of 3,541 votes, Gwarmai’s victory marks a key win for the APC as the party continues to reinforce its influence across the state.
Meanwhile, the NNPP won the Bagwai/Shanono state assembly by-election in Kano state.
Daily Trust and Vanguard noted this update.
Announcing the result at 12:36 a.m. on Sunday, August 17, the RO for the election, Prof. Hassan Adamu Shitu, declared the NNPP candidate, Ali Hassan Kiyawa, winner with 16,198 votes, defeating the APC candidate, Ahmad Muhammad Kadamu, who polled 5,347 votes.
Former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, has said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is performing well but lacks an effective communication strategy to relay its achievements to Nigerians.
Aliyu made the statement on the Thursday edition of Arise Television’s ‘The Morning Show’, while reacting to the outcome of a recent public accountability session held in Kaduna.
Aliyu, reflecting on the discussions at the Kaduna Forum, said the government is facing public dissatisfaction not because it hasn’t delivered, but because it is failing to tell its own story effectively.
The ex-governor said it is proper for political leaders in the North to make demands from Tinubu’s administration since the bulk of the votes that took power came from the region.
“Let the people understand what is happening on the ground. If by what we say that 63/64 percent of the vote came from the north, it is only logical that the north will be expecting so much from the government.
“But from what we have seen so far is that the government is doing well but they do not know how to communicate very well,” he said.
News
New Twist As El-Rufai Snubs ADC, Announces Another Party To Vote In Kaduna Bye-Election [ Video Trends]
Former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, appeared to have taken a reverse from the coalition’s adopted political platform, ADC
This is as the former governor took to social media and asked the people of Zaria, Chikun to vote for another party in the Saturday, August 16 (today), bye-elections in the constituencies in Kaduna
Recall that the former governor recently visited Sokoto to canvass support for the ADC, while criticising President Bola Tinubu and the APC government.
Click to watch El-Rufai’s video here
— Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (@elrufai) August 14, 2025
Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna, has fueled speculations that he dumped the recently adopted coalition political platform, African Democratic Congress (ADC), as he called on the people of Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency and Zaria Kewaye and Basawa state constituency to vote for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
However, in a dramatic turn, the former governor urged the people of Zaria and Chikun to vote for the SDP in the Saturday, August 16, by-election, a poll which was meant to test the opposition’s strength ahead of the 2027 general election.
Recall that El-Rufai defected to the SDP after dumping the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), but soon after joining the party, the SDP fell into a leadership crisis, and the former governor has been silent on his membership and allegations against him.
El-Rufai recently visited Sokoto on a mission to gather support for the ADC. He described his action as a patriotic one to rescue Nigeria from the grip of ‘nepotism’ and ‘incompetence’.
During his visit to Sokoto, the former governor attended two important events meant to sensitise the people and political stakeholders working to achieve the agenda of sacking President Tinubu and the APC in the next general election.
During his address at the event, the former governor lambasted the ruling party and called them ‘a failed, clannish, and visionless administration that has plunged Nigeria into deeper socio-economic misery’.
He declared that it was time for Nigerians to rise against the APC and accused the party of ‘broken promises and elite conspiracy’. He warned that any move to vote for the APC beyond 2027 would be a greater doom for the country.
However, in a sharp turn, the former governor, in a video posted on his social media page ahead of the by-election, urged the people in the constituencies where the poll will be held in Kaduna on Saturday, August 16, to vote for the SDP rather than the ADC he went to Sokoto to canvass for.
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