Economist and political activist Professor Pat Utomi has responded defiantly to the legal action filed against him by the Department of State Services (DSS) over his recent formation of a shadow government.
Earlier this month, Utomi unveiled the Big Tent Coalition Shadow Government, a body composed of members from various opposition parties, aimed at providing an alternative voice to the Bola Tinubu-led administration. The group, according to Utomi, intends to monitor government actions, highlight policy failures, and propose reforms in critical sectors such as the economy, education, healthcare, law enforcement, infrastructure, and constitutional matters.
The DSS subsequently took Utomi to court, accusing the former African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate of attempting to unlawfully usurp executive authority and destabilize the country.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Utomi dismissed the charges and reaffirmed his commitment to democratic values. He expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support from Nigerians and revealed that some individuals were mobilizing 500 lawyers to defend him.
“I am heartened by messages of solidarity from across Nigeria on this shadowy business of chasing shadows of shadow cabinets,” he wrote. “It’s energizing that some want to put together 500 lawyers to defend me against the DSS.”
Utomi criticized the nation’s priorities, lamenting a political culture that values power and wealth over the well-being of future generations.
“To worship money and power at the expense of the future all our children will live in, with no care for peace and progress, is condemnable by all with a decent conscience,” he stated. “They have a moral obligation to push back on such darkness.”
He also condemned what he sees as selective application of the constitution, particularly regarding lawmakers who defect from the political parties under which they were elected without consequence.
“If DSS enjoys going to court, it should prosecute such violations of the constitution,” he added.
Recalling his activism under the Sani Abacha regime, Utomi referenced a pro-democracy conference he chaired in Ikeja, Lagos, organized by the Catholic Secretariat during the tenure of then Father Matthew Kukah.
“It was put as a question: Is this how democracy dies in Nigeria? The answer is yes. This is how democracy died in Nigeria. Where citizens cannot organize themselves to ask questions of their agents,” he wrote.
He then revealed plans to return to Nigeria on June 12 — the symbolic date marking the country’s democratic struggle — and visit the home of late MKO Abiola. He said he is prepared for arrest or even death if it comes to that.
“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 slaughter. Death is no big deal. Four of my friends are in the morgue.”
Utomi also took aim at President Tinubu, warning that he too would face mortality like all men.
“Tinubu may have been in London when I faced assassins under Abacha and was the supplier of my reports to Chief Enahoro and NADECO abroad — but we all ultimately go the way of man,” he said.
Aligning himself with iconic freedom fighters Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Catholic saint Thomas More, Utomi vowed to continue fighting for justice and accountability.
“To the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and the holy watch of St. Thomas More, I raise the meaning of being — for what is left of my time on this stage.”
Quoting astrophysicist Carl Sagan, he concluded with a stirring call for freedom:
“I remember the showman of science, Carl Sagan, as the NASA orbiter turned its camera to Earth for the final time — a speck of dust, home to tyrants and also to all those we have loved. I am emboldened to chant: Freedom now. If we die, we die.”
