Shadow Govt: Senior lawyer commends DSS, says agency acted within its mandate

• It is treason, declares Omokri

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Barrister Adeboro Adamson, has commended the Department of State Security (DSS) for challenging the legality of the shadow government proposed by a former presidential candidate, Prof. Pat Utomi. Adamson said the DSS was civil and acted within the confines of its mandate.

On his part, an aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has described Utomi’s shadow government as treason.

Utomi, a professor of political economy, had recently initiated what he called the “Big Tent Coalition Shadow Government”, which, according to him, will be a “national emergency response” to systematically monitor government actions, identify failures, and propose alternative solutions across critical sectors.

However, speaking Sunday night on Arise TV, Adamson expressed satisfaction with the DSS for acting within the confines of its mandate and swiftly challenging in court the legality of Utomi’s shadow government.

According to the lawyer, “DSS has a mandate, which includes the detection and prevention of subversion, terrorism, espionage, among others. If one of the mandates of the DSS is to prevent subversion, how do we situate the statement of the erudite professor that he has assembled people who will man what he tagged a shadow cabinet?

“We operate a presidential system of government. The question then should be, is this shadow government known to our Constitution?

“The DSS has viewed it as an act of subversion aimed at undermining a democratically-elected government.

“Some might ask why the DSS chose a civil suit over a criminal one? My answer is that the DSS has chosen to submit to the courts to determine if the actions and utterances of the revered Professor can be situated within the confines of the Constitution,” he added, stressing, “this is a civilized way of doing things.”

On his part, Omokri expressed surprised that Utomi, who was an aide to President Shehu Shagari, failed to realize that presidential democracies do not have room for shadow governments by whatever form or shape.

He said, “Forming a shadow government under a presidential system of government is treason. You cannot try it in the United States. And by Section 1 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria:

“The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any persons or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

“You do not form a shadow government in a presidential system of government because a presidential system is a republican democracy, meaning that the president is both head of state and head of government,” declared Omokri.