Pat Utomi Dares DSS: “If We Die, We Die” — Vows to Face Charges Over Alleged Shadow Government Plot

Pat Utomi Stands Defiant as DSS Pursues Legal Action Over Alleged Shadow Government Scheme

Professor Pat Utomi, the renowned political economist and democracy advocate, has issued a bold and emotional response to a legal case filed by Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS), which accuses him of attempting to establish an illegal shadow government aimed at undermining President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The DSS filed the case—marked FHC/ABJ/CS/937/2025—at the Federal High Court in Abuja, alleging that Utomi’s initiative constitutes a grave threat to the constitutional order and national security of Nigeria. According to the agency, his proposed "shadow government" is not recognized under the Nigerian Constitution and represents a calculated move to destabilize the country’s legitimate political structure.

Rather than retreat or resist, Utomi declared his willingness to face the full weight of the accusations. Taking to his 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday, he offered himself up “like a lamb led to slaughter,” vowing not to go into hiding and revealing that hundreds of legal minds are ready to stand in his defense.

The respected public intellectual disclosed that about 500 lawyers had expressed readiness to form a defense team on his behalf. He described their willingness as a testament to the deep concerns among many Nigerians about the perceived erosion of democratic space in the country.

"I am heartened by messages of solidarity from across Nigeria on this shadowy business of chasing shadows of shadow cabinets," Utomi wrote. "It reminds me of the Nigeria I used to know."

The former presidential candidate and professor at Lagos Business School recalled his role in organizing civil discourse during the authoritarian years of the late General Sani Abacha. He cited a pivotal conference he helped organize through the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, where Nigerians gathered to debate the future of their nation. That effort, he implied, is not unlike the civic engagement he is being accused of now.

Addressing the public directly, Utomi’s message took on a philosophical tone, blending political commentary with personal reflection. He painted a somber yet determined picture of sacrifice, drawing historical parallels with global figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and St. Thomas More. His words carried the weight of both personal risk and moral purpose.

Utomi stated that he would return to Nigeria on June 12, a date deeply symbolic in the nation’s democratic history, marking the anniversary of the annulled 1993 election widely considered to have been won by the late Moshood Abiola. Upon his return, Utomi said he would head straight to Abiola’s residence, ready to be arrested if necessary.

“My hands are primed for handcuffs,” he said. “If the Aquino treatment from Marcos—bullet at the airport—is preferred, I submit willingly like a lamb led to slaughter.”

He made a haunting reference to the Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr., who was assassinated in 1983 upon returning to confront dictatorship. Utomi hinted that such a fate would not deter him from his commitment to democratic ideals, even if it meant death.

“There’s no big deal in death,” he said, revealing that four of his friends were already in the morgue. “What is certain is that Tinubu will not escape that same fate.”

Utomi’s comments extended beyond the immediate legal conflict. He questioned whether Nigerians could still freely organize and hold their leaders accountable, warning that such persecution was a clear sign of democratic decay. His rhetorical question—“Is this how democracy dies in Nigeria?”—was answered with solemn certainty: “Yes. This is how democracy died in Nigeria.”

Drawing inspiration from Carl Sagan’s reflections on human frailty and the fleeting nature of power, Utomi closed his message with a final, defiant chant: “Freedom now. If we die, we die.”

As the case unfolds, observers across the political spectrum will be watching not just for its legal outcome, but for what it may signify about the state of political freedom and civil resistance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.