The Department of State Services (DSS) has initiated a legal suit against Professor Pat Utomi over the launch of a ‘shadow government’, an initiative the agency claims violates the 1999 Constitution and poses a threat to national security.
On May 5, Utomi, a professor of political economy, unveiled the initiative virtually, calling it the “Big Tent Coalition Shadow Government.” According to him, the move is a “national response emergency” to President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The shadow cabinet includes opposition figures and professionals such as Dele Farotimi, a human rights advocate, who was named head of the ombudsman and good governance portfolio.
In a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/937/2025 filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the DSS, through a legal team led by Akinlolu Kehinde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), asked the court to declare the initiative illegal and unconstitutional. Utomi is the sole defendant in the suit.
The DSS argued that the creation of the shadow government is a “grave attack on the 1999 constitution (as amended) and a threat to democratic government in the country.” It said the shadow government initiative “may incite political unrest and embolden other unlawful actors to replicate similar parallel arrangements in the country.”
The DSS asserted that the move “poses a great threat to the national security of the country” and asked the court to declare the shadow cabinet 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 security agency requested 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.”
It also sought 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 recognized by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”
According to the DSS, “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 suit added.
“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 defendant’s actions amount to an attempt to usurp or mimic executive authority, contrary to Sections 1(1), 1(2), and 14(2)(a) 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.”
