ODA CONDEMNS IN STRONGEST TERMS THE HARASSMENT, INTIMIDATION AND BLOCKADE OF INEC CHAIRMAN, PROF. JOASH OJO AMUPITAN, SAN, AT CHATHAM HOUSE, LONDON
The Okun Development Association, the umbrella socio-cultural organisation of the entire Okun people of Kogi State, under the leadership of Amb. Rotimi Akenson, has watched with shock, pain and total disapproval the viral video and the disturbing reports of what happened to our son, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, outside Chatham House in London, United Kingdom, on Thursday, 12th November, 2026. We condemn this act in its totality. It was shameful, irresponsible, undemocratic and completely un-Nigerian, and it stands as a sad commentary on how far political intolerance has gone among some of our citizens abroad.
Prof. Amupitan was in London on a legitimate national assignment. He had been invited to Chatham House, the world-renowned British policy institute, to speak on a panel titled “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot,” an event organised in partnership with Kimpact Development Initiative. It was an opportunity for Nigeria to explain itself to the world, to answer hard questions, and to show that the country is preparing seriously for its next general elections. Inside the hall, he conducted himself with openness and candour. He fielded difficult questions, detailed INEC’s operational readiness to deliver free, fair and credible elections in 2027, and spoke frankly on the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, strategies to mitigate network failures, artificial intelligence safeguards for cleaning the voter register, and the funding and logistics required for a credible poll. He even openly admitted that the technical glitches that marred the transmission of results in the 2023 elections eroded public trust in the Commission, a rare admission that demonstrated humility, honesty and a genuine desire to rebuild confidence typical of Okun personality.
What should have remained a proud moment of intellectual engagement, however, degenerated into an ugly spectacle of confrontation the moment he stepped out of the venue. As he was departing, a group of Nigerian diaspora protesters encircled and surrounded the black vehicle conveying him, pressed against the car, blocked his movement, waved placards and demanded that he come out. In the circulating video, voices could be heard shouting in anger: “People are angry. This wicked, evil man, you are a criminal. Why are you running?” and “Why are you running? Come out and talk to us. Call police for us. He needs to come out and talk to us.” One placard boldly read: “Amupitan, no more election fraud.” The incident, which stretched from outside the venue to around the UK Parliament area, became so tense that it required the intervention of security agents and Chatham House officials before he could leave safely. What was meant to be a serious conversation on Nigeria’s democratic future was turned into an ambush.
The protesters claimed they were angry over alleged irregularities in the preliminary voter register ahead of the 2027 polls, including claims of AI-generated entries, duplicate entries and fake polling units. The Okun Development Association recognises that these are serious concerns that deserve to be investigated and addressed, and we do not dismiss the right of any Nigerian to ask questions about the integrity of the electoral process. But no grievance, however strongly felt, justifies mobbing a man, blocking his vehicle, calling him a criminal without any court conviction, and attempting to humiliate him in a foreign land. A grievance does not become legitimate because it is shouted loudly, and a cause does not become just because it is pursued unjustly.
Prof. Amupitan is first and foremost a Nigerian citizen. Under Sections 33, 34, 35 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, and under universal human rights law, every Nigerian is entitled to the right to life, dignity of the human person, personal liberty and freedom of movement. No citizen, no matter the office he holds, deserves to be mobbed, insulted, blocked and dehumanised in a foreign land. Being INEC Chairman does not remove his humanity. Being a public officer does not make him a punching bag for political frustration. The fact that he was in London to serve Nigeria should have earned him respect and protection, not harassment and humiliation. If we allow our officials to be treated this way abroad, we send a dangerous message to the world that Nigerians do not value their own institutions or their own people.
Prof. Amupitan is a proud son of Okun land. An attack on him is an attack on the Okun people and on the dignity of Kogi State. The Okun Development Association will not fold its hands while our son is humiliated abroad. We have watched his rise with pride, we know his character, his integrity and his commitment to justice, and we refuse to allow a false and hasty narrative to define a man who has spent his life in service to law, to education and to Nigeria. When our son is attacked unjustly, we will speak. When his dignity is assaulted, we will defend him. Silence in the face of such humiliation would be a betrayal of our values as a people.
The Okun Development Association believes deeply in democracy, in free speech and in peaceful protest. These are the pillars upon which any free society stands, and we will always defend them. But there is a clear line between protest and harassment, between free expression and mob action, and that line was crossed in London. Surrounding a man’s vehicle, preventing him from moving, calling him a criminal and shouting him down is not protest. It is harassment, intimidation and mob action. It is against British law, against Nigerian values and against democratic norms. True democracy does not shout down its opponents. It listens, it debates, it petitions and it goes to court. What happened at Chatham House was not democracy in action. It was intolerance on display.
Prof. Amupitan has not conducted the 2027 election. He should be judged by his work, and held accountable through proper democratic and legal channels, not attacked before the contest itself. To condemn a referee before the match has started is not justice, it is prejudice. Grievances about the voter register, about technology and about INEC’s preparations should be channelled through INEC itself, through the courts and through the National Assembly, not through street ambush in London. If we destroy confidence in the electoral process before it begins, we destroy the very democracy we claim to be fighting for.
The Okun Development Association therefore calls on the United Kingdom Metropolitan Police and the authorities of Chatham House to investigate the incident, identify the organisers, and ensure that such harassment of a visiting Nigerian official never happens again. We call on the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigerian High Commission in London to formally protest the incident and to demand full protection for Prof. Amupitan and for all Nigerian officials on official assignment abroad. We call on Nigerians in the Diaspora to be good ambassadors of our nation. Disagreement must not become disgrace. Let us project Nigeria positively to the world, not tear down our own institutions on foreign soil. And we call on all political actors, commentators and citizens to grant the INEC leadership the calm and institutional space it needs to carry out its constitutional mandate without fear or favour.
The Okun Development Association had earlier warned against the witch-hunting of the INEC Chairman and urged that all grievances be addressed strictly through constitutional and legal channels, rather than through inflammatory public statements. We restate that position today with even greater conviction. We stand firmly with Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN. We pray for him, we encourage him, and we urge him not to be distracted by noise and intimidation. His tenure must be allowed to strengthen public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process. An injury to one Nigerian is an injury to all Nigerians, and an attack on the dignity of one Okun son is an attack on all of us.
Signed:
Dayo Thomas
National Publicity Secretary
Okun Development Association
0 Comments