Prof. Pat Utomi has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss the suit filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) over his alleged plan to establish what he called “a shadow government” in the country.
Utomi, a Professor of Political Economy and Management Expert, made the application as the court begins the hearing of the suit on Wednesday.
He told Justice James Omotosho in a preliminary objection filed by his lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), to dismiss the case for want of jurisdiction.
In the preliminary objection dated and filed June 24, 2025, Utomi, the 2007 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), raised four grounds why the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/937/2025, should be dismissed in its entirety.
He argued that the DSS’s suit disclosed no reasonable cause of action within the contemplation of the enabling statute of the security outfit: the National Security Agencies Act, Cap N74, Laws of the Federation Nigeria, 2004.
He submitted that the “subject matter of the suit, being civic political engagement, shadow cabinet formation, and public policy discourse, does not fall within the statutory functions of the State Security Service as provided under Section 2(3) of the National Security Agencies Act.
“The reliefs sought by the plaintiff/respondent seek to criminalise constitutionally protected rights to freedom of expression, association, and political participation contrary to Sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
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“The suit amounts to an abuse of court process, is speculative, incompetent, inchoate and lacks any legal foundation.”
Utomi, therefore, urged the court to strike out or dismiss the suit on the aforesaid grounds and for want of jurisdiction.
In the affidavit in support of the notice of preliminary objection deposed to by Utomi himself, he described himself as “a Nigerian University professor, entrepreneur, author, and politician, born on the 6th of February, 1956”.
He said he had served in several high-profile capacities in both the private and public sectors, including as Deputy Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Volkswagen of Nigeria in the 1980s and as Adviser to the President of Nigeria in 1983.
He said he had caused a preliminary objection to be filed, challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit.
He said that the suit is speculative, hypothetical and premature, as it seeks preemptive orders on mere suspicion and without factual basis.
He averred that the DSS lacked the requisite locus standi to institute the action in the manner it had done.
According to him, the subject matter of the suit falls outside the constitutional and statutory powers of the claimant, and does not invoke the civil jurisdiction of this honourable court.
Utomi averred: “That the suit amounts to an abuse of judicial process intended to muzzle the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression and political association.
“That the claimant has not disclosed in the originating summons any concrete act or omission on the part of the defendant amounting to a breach of any known law or posing any clear and present danger to national security.
“That the suit as presently constituted is an attempt to use civil proceedings to achieve objectives which, if any, ought to be pursued under established statutory processes with clear legal thresholds and procedural safeguards.
“That the claimant has failed to demonstrate any justiciable grievance entitling it to the discretionary reliefs of this honourable court.
“That it is in the interest of justice to have this honourable court determine the preliminary objection before any further steps are taken in the substantive matter.
“That this honourable court will best promote the ends of justice and prevent an abuse of its process by striking out or dismissing this suit for want of jurisdiction.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the DSS had sued Prof. Utomi, the sole defendant, over his planned “shadow government”.
The DSS, in the suit filed by Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), prayed the court to declare the move as an attack on the constitution.
The service contended that the move by Utomi was intended to create chaos and destabilise the country.
The agency also filed a motion praying the court to stop Utomi and his agents from staging any rally or demonstration in relation to the subject matter, which is currently pending before the court.
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