By Nkechi Eze
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, who said he was physically present at the event on Thursday, described the protesters as a small group of between 10 and 15 individuals, insisting that they did not represent Nigerians in the diaspora or reflect the views of the wider Nigerian community in the United Kingdom.
In a statement, the lawyer dismissed reports and videos circulating on social media about the incident as a gross misrepresentation of what transpired, arguing that the demonstration had been deliberately presented in a manner that distorted the events surrounding Amupitan’s engagement.
“Diaspora Nigerians? Nothing could be further from the truth. I was physically present at Chatham House yesterday, and I can state categorically that the narrative being circulated on social media is a gross misrepresentation of what actually transpired,” he said.
Amupitan had attended a Chatham House engagement titled, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot,” where he discussed Nigeria’s democratic future, electoral processes and preparations for the 2027 general elections.
Reports of the protest emerged after a group of demonstrators gathered outside the venue as the INEC chairman was leaving, reportedly blocking his vehicle and demanding answers over alleged irregularities in the voters’ register, while also calling for his resignation.
However, Babalola maintained that the protest occurred after the formal engagement and should not be portrayed as an interruption or disruption of the programme.
According to him, Amupitan made insightful contributions during the discussion and responded to questions from participants before concluding his engagement.
The lawyer further alleged that he later encountered some of the protesters on Jermyn Street, where he claimed to have witnessed a man wearing New Democratic Congress (NDC) memorabilia paying them.
He also alleged that some members of the group wore Peter Obi-branded memorabilia during the demonstration.
Recounting his encounter with the protesters, Babalola said they hurled insults at him after recognising him, adding that he responded by suggesting that they had earned some money to pay their bills.
He said the situation outside Chatham House eventually attracted the attention of the venue’s security personnel, while the protesters dispersed after the police were called.
Babalola also disputed claims that the Chatham House engagement was poorly attended, stating that close to 200 participants were physically present, most of them Nigerians who had registered for the event.
He added that about 374 people registered and participated in the programme online, describing the turnout as evidence of the interest generated by the engagement.
The lawyer insisted that the protesters were outside the premises and did not participate in the discussion, stressing that Amupitan was neither disgraced nor interrupted during the event.
“What happened outside the venue afterwards should not be deliberately conflated with the quality, substance or outcome of the official engagement,” he said.
While acknowledging the right of Nigerians to express political opinions and peacefully protest against public office holders, Babalola cautioned against presenting the actions of a handful of individuals as the collective position of Nigerians in the diaspora.
He said his intervention was aimed at correcting what he described as misleading accounts of the incident rather than defending any political party.
“There is a clear distinction between a legitimate protest and an attempt to manufacture a narrative for political propaganda,” he added.
The controversy comes amid growing scrutiny of INEC’s preliminary voters’ register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The commission recently disclosed that it had removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations following a review of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise, alongside 873 records of deceased persons, bringing the total number of deleted records to 1,609,553.
INEC also identified 54 persons across 10 states over alleged registration infractions.
