The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said on Wednesday in London that calls for his arrest and prosecution are unjustifiable. He was responding to Elder statesman and Pan Niger Delta Forum leader Chief Edwin Clark, who demanded that Mohammed be detained for spreading “fake news” about Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi.
Mohammed defended his admonition of Obi and his running mate, Datti Baba‑Ahmed, insisting that his advice was never based on falsehood. He asked, “What will be my offence? Is it for chiding the vice‑presidential candidate of the Labour Party, who said on live television that if President‑elect Bola Tinubu is sworn in on May 29, that would be the end of democracy in Nigeria? Is it for pointing out that swearing in Tinubu on May 29 is like swearing in the military? What is the fake news in that?” He noted that Baba‑Ahmed never denied his statement made on live television, and that Obi had not publicly ordered his running mate to make treasonable utterances.
Mohammed emphasized that the law is clear: anyone aggrieved by election results must go to court. “It is not to start threatening Nigerians and heating up the polity simply because you lost an election,” he said. He stressed that the APC won the presidential election “fair and square” and that INEC was correct in declaring Tinubu the winner. Finally, he reassured Nigerians and the international community that the president‑elect will be sworn in on May 29.
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