A United Kingdom-based Nigerian lawyer, Otunba Dayo Babalola, has alleged that some of the 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.
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 demonstrators should not be portrayed as representing the wider Nigerian community in the United Kingdom.
“Diaspora Nigerians? Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said.
According to him, the protest occurred after the formal engagement and should not be presented as an interruption or disruption of the Chatham House event.
Amupitan had attended an engagement titled, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot,” where he discussed Nigeria’s democratic future, the electoral process 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. The protesters reportedly blocked his vehicle and demanded that he address allegations of irregularities in the voters’ register, while also calling for his resignation over claims that the electoral commission had compromised its independence.
However, Babalola maintained that Amupitan successfully participated in the engagement, made his contributions and responded to questions from participants without interruption.
He also alleged that some of the demonstrators wore memorabilia bearing the insignia of Peter Obi, while recounting that the situation eventually attracted the attention of Chatham House security officials, after which the police were called and the protesters dispersed.
The lawyer further alleged that he encountered some members of the group later on Jermyn Street, where he claimed to have witnessed a man wearing New Democratic Congress (NDC) memorabilia paying them.
Recounting the encounter, Babalola said some of the protesters hurled insults at him after recognising him.
“When they saw me, they threw a few insults at me and I smiled and simply said at least you guys have now made some small pounds to pay your bills for a few days even as I walked past them,” he said.
Babalola also disputed claims that the Chatham House engagement was poorly attended, saying the venue was filled with close to 200 participants, mostly Nigerians who had registered for the programme.
He added that about 374 people registered and participated online, describing the physical and virtual attendance as evidence of the interest generated by the engagement.
The lawyer further insisted that the protesters were outside the premises and did not participate in the programme.
To establish that his account was based on firsthand observation, he said he was visible in some of the videos circulating on social media between approximately 2:22 p.m. and 2:45 p.m., standing by the main entrance of Chatham House, dressed in a suit and holding his muffler.
He maintained that the incident outside the venue should not be conflated with the official engagement, stressing that the INEC chairman was neither disgraced nor interrupted during the programme.
“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 portraying the actions of a few individuals as the position of an entire community.
“People are entitled to their political opinions. They are equally entitled to peaceful protest and to demand accountability from public office holders.
“However, political disagreement must not become an excuse for misinformation, sensationalism or the deliberate distortion of events.
“A handful of individuals cannot legitimately be presented as the voice of the entire Nigerian diaspora,” he said.
He said his intervention was intended to correct what he described as misleading accounts of the incident and not to defend any political party.
Expressing disappointment over the circulation of what he considered misleading social media narratives, Babalola said there was a distinction between legitimate protest and attempts to manufacture political narratives.
“There is a clear distinction between a legitimate protest and an attempt to manufacture a narrative for political propaganda,” he said.
He added that Amupitan attended the Chatham House engagement, delivered his presentation, answered questions and participated in the panel discussion, insisting that the subsequent demonstration outside the venue should be treated as a separate incident.
The controversy comes amid growing scrutiny of INEC’s preliminary voters’ register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The commission had disclosed that it removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations following a review of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
It also deleted 873 records of deceased persons, bringing the total number of removed records to 1,609,553.
INEC further disclosed that it had identified 54 persons across 10 states over alleged registration infractions.
