Lawyer Claims Protesters Confronting INEC Chairman Were Paid

A United Kingdom-based Nigerian lawyer, Otunba Dayo Babalola, has alleged that some protesters who confronted the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, outside Chatham House in London were paid to stage the demonstration. Babalola claimed he witnessed the incident and described the protesters as a small group of between 10 and 15 individuals. He dismissed claims that they represented Nigerians in the diaspora.

Babalola explained that Amupitan’s engagement at Chatham House, titled Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot, was successfully held with nearly 200 participants, mostly Nigerians who had registered for the event. Approximately 374 people also registered and participated online. The lawyer insisted that the protesters did not disrupt the programme, which took place inside the venue.

The protesters reportedly blocked Amupitan’s vehicle and demanded that he address allegations of irregularities in the voters’ register, while calling for his resignation over claims that INEC had compromised its independence. However, Babalola maintained that the demonstration took place after the formal engagement and did not disrupt the programme.

Babalola further alleged that some protesters wore memorabilia associated with Peter Obi and that the situation eventually attracted the attention of Chatham House security before the individuals dispersed following the involvement of the police. He claimed to have encountered some members of the group later on Jermyn Street, where he allegedly witnessed a man wearing New Democratic Congress (NDC) memorabilia paying them.

The lawyer disputed suggestions that the Chatham House engagement was poorly attended and insisted that Amupitan was neither disgraced nor interrupted during the engagement. Babalola acknowledged the right of Nigerians to express political opinions and stage peaceful protests against public office holders but cautioned against the deliberate distortion of events for political purposes.

The controversy comes amid growing scrutiny of INEC’s preliminary voters’ register ahead of the 2027 general elections. The commission recently disclosed that it removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations following a review of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise, alongside 873 records belonging to deceased persons.

Babalola said his intervention was intended to correct what he considered inaccurate accounts of the incident and should not be interpreted as a defence of any political party. The allegations surrounding the Chatham House demonstration have yet to be independently established, while no response from the protesters addressing Babalola’s claims was contained in the account.

Key points

• The lawyer alleged that some protesters were paid to stage the demonstration.
• The engagement at Chatham House was successfully held with nearly 200 participants.
• INEC recently removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations from its preliminary voters’ register.