The court declared Utomi’s plan to be unconstitutional and unknown to Nigeria’s presidential system.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday declared Professor Pat Utomi’s plan to form a “shadow government” in Nigeria as unconstitutional.
The court declared Utomi’s plan to be unconstitutional and unknown to Nigeria’s presidential system.
In a ruling delivered on Monday, Justice James Omotosho declared that the notion of a “shadow government” or alternative cabinet “is alien to the Nigerian Constitution and has no legal basis.”
The judgment followed a suit filed by the State Security Service (SSS), also known as the Department of State Services (DSS).
The court consequently barred Professor Pat Utomi, a political economist and former presidential aspirant, along with his associates, from pursuing the initiative. Justice Omotosho emphasized that the proposal conflicts with Nigeria’s presidential system and has the potential to mislead the public, noting that the Constitution does not provide for any parallel or alternative government outside the one it establishes.
“Section 14(2)(c) makes no allowance for a shadow government. The defendant cannot import foreign constitutional models to confuse Nigerians. Such a so-called shadow government is hereby declared null and void,” Justice Omotosho held.
The dispute between the DSS and Professor Utomi, a former 2007 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), arose after the agency filed a lawsuit challenging his plan to form a shadow government, describing it as unconstitutional.
The DSS, Nigeria’s domestic intelligence agency, sought to prevent Utomi and his associates from pursuing the initiative.
Utomi opposed the suit, arguing that his plan fell within his constitutional rights to freedom of expression and association, and that stopping it would infringe on those rights.
Recognising the novel nature of the case, Justice James Omotosho invited seven senior lawyers to serve as amici curiae (friends of the court) to guide the delivery of judgment.
During the July 10 hearing, the submissions from the legal experts were sharply divided. Some supported the DSS’s stance, while others defended Utomi’s proposal as a legitimate civic initiative. After considering their arguments, the judge reserved judgment until today (September 29).
In his ruling, Justice Omotosho acknowledged that the defendant is entitled to his fundamental rights but emphasised that these rights are not absolute and must operate within constitutional limits.
He concluded that the formation of a shadow government exceeds those limits and is capable of causing societal disruption.
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