A professor of political economy and former presidential candidate, Pat Utomi, said he may leave Nigeria over alleged attempts by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to silence him.
Prof Utomi said he is fed up with various attempts to shut his voice, stressing that his efforts and criticisms of the government were his desire to see a better Nigeria.
Utomi, in an interview yesterday, said, “I’m getting fed up with all of this. If they are ready to shut my voice, I am ready to go to Ghana or anywhere else and live peacefully.”
DSS Vs Utomi
The Department of State Service (DSS) on Wednesday filed a fresh application against Prof. Utomi at the Federal High Court in Abuja over his alleged plans to hold rallies in relation to the subject of a suit pending against him.
The DSS, in the application filed through its lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), before Justice James Omotosho, prayed the court to restrain Utomi and his associates from further making public comments or engaging in rallies in relation to the planned “shadow government” formation.
The DSS had earlier dragged Utomi, the 2007 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), before Justice Omotosho over his alleged plan to establish what he called “a shadow government” in the country.
The security agency, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/937/2025, prayed the court to declare the move as an attack on the constitution. Justice Omotosho had fixed June 25 for the hearing.
Meanwhile, the fresh motion filed before the presiding judge was against the reports that Utomi 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 DSS prayed for an order of interlocutory injunction, restraining the defendant/respondent (Utomi), his agents from staging road shows, rallies, public lectures or any form of public gathering, newspaper publications, television programmes, jingles or any other public enlightenment programme.
The DSS, in its grounds of application, argued that, if not restrained, 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.”
Utomi files a defence
Meanwhile, in the interview, Utomi disclosed that Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and other lawyers have filed a defence on his behalf in response to the DSS suit. The opposition politician expressed frustration with the authorities’ actions, saying he may consider leaving the country over efforts to suppress his voice.
“I will retire next year and leave them to do whatever they want to do. I’m looking for a better country for the next generation. But politicians make it look like dissenting comments.
“I want to inspire the next generation to be free and make progress. It is now up to them. It is up to the current generation to realise that there are people who don’t want their country to grow,” he said.
