ABUJA, Nigeria — A Federal High Court in Abuja has declared unlawful the move by former presidential candidate Professor Pat Utomi and his associates to establish a shadow government or cabinet in Nigeria.
Justice James Omotosho, delivering judgement in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/937/2025 filed by the Department of State Services (DSS), ruled that the proposed arrangement was unconstitutional and incompatible with Nigeria’s presidential system of government.
The DSS had approached the court to restrain Utomi, arguing that the initiative posed a threat to national security and could destabilise the country.
The security agency said the plan amounted to creating a parallel authority outside the provisions of the Constitution.
Counsel for the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, maintained that such a structure would not only be an aberration but could also incite political unrest, encourage separatist tendencies, and undermine the legitimacy of Nigeria’s elected government.
Justice Omotosho upheld the DSS position, stressing that while citizens are entitled to rights of free expression and association, those rights are not absolute.
“The concept of shadow government or cabinet is unconstitutional and alien to our presidential system,” he said.
“It constitutes a grave attack on the Constitution and a threat to the democratically elected government currently in place.”
The court added that if left unchecked, the initiative could cause intergroup tensions, embolden unlawful actors, and destabilise the polity.
Although Utomi and his associates argued that their activities were part of civil society engagement, the judge ruled that the decision to set up a shadow government was a “nullity.”
He noted that Nigeria already provides constitutional avenues for criticism of government, but forming a parallel cabinet fell outside those provisions.
