A northern advocacy group has raised alarm over an alleged ₦200 million bribe offer aimed at orchestrating a protest campaign against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle.
The Northern Socio-Political Rights Network (NSPRN), in a statement issued Saturday, May 10, 2025, by its president, Mohammed Farouk Lawal, claimed that proxies linked to high-ranking officials in Zamfara State attempted to lure the group into staging anti-Tinubu protests in Abuja.
According to Lawal, the offer came earlier in the week through intermediaries who allegedly instructed NSPRN to publicly accuse Tinubu of shielding Matawalle from corruption probes.
“They offered us ₦200 million to hold a protest in Abuja, to read scripted statements targeting the president and Dr. Matawalle. We were expected to make it look like the North had turned against the administration,” Lawal revealed.
The advocacy group said it flatly rejected the offer, describing the plot as a “dangerous scheme” to discredit northern voices in government and stir up regional dissent ahead of the 2027 general elections.
NSPRN alleged that the same political network has previously funded similar protests under different platforms in Abuja, but now sought more credible organisations to give their agenda legitimacy.
“When they saw our track record and grassroots influence in northern communities, they thought money would buy our loyalty. But we are patriots, not pawns,” Lawal stated.
The group described recent public protests targeting Matawalle as “staged” and “state-sponsored,” calling them part of a larger plan to weaken the Tinubu administration’s hold in the North.
“They scripted everything—from press briefings at the EFCC to video campaigns calling for Matawalle’s arrest. It’s a coordinated attack, not activism,” Lawal added.
NSPRN hailed President Tinubu’s inclusion of competent northern figures in his cabinet and praised Matawalle’s ongoing efforts in combating banditry and insecurity in the North West.
The group also urged security agencies to investigate the financial trail behind politically motivated demonstrations, warning that weaponizing protest for political gain could incite division and undermine national cohesion.
“This is not just about one minister—it’s a direct attack on national stability. If left unchecked, these tactics could fracture the fragile unity we’ve built,” the statement concluded.
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