Major opposition parties have criticised the Federal Government for arraigning 27-year-old Innocent Onukwume, who is accused of calling for a military coup on his 𝕏 handle.
They described the outburst as an expression of the “growing frustration” under President Bola Tinubu’s administration rather than a genuine threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
The Department of State Services arrested Onukwume for tweets posted in October via his handle, @theagroman. According to court filings before the Federal High Court in Abuja (FHC/ABJ/CR/610/2025), he allegedly sought military assistance to carry out the purported coup.
Speaking to Punch on Saturday, the National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, said the party does not support unconstitutional actions but argued that Onukwume’s statements should worry the authorities.
He asked, “Is there anybody left in this country, apart from the minority benefitting from the system, who thinks that this democracy is working for the people?”
Abdullahi added that the government should have engaged Onukwume instead of prosecuting him.
He said, “Instead of rushing to prosecute a frustrated young man who obviously doesn’t have the capability to effect such change, the government should have sought to understand the underlying issues.”
According to him, extreme calls for revolution or regime change are now common expressions of widespread frustration under the APC.
NNPP: APC Has Abandoned Democratic Ideals
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) also faulted the government’s action, accusing the APC of failing to uphold the democratic principles it once championed.
NNPP spokesman, Ladipo Johnson, said, “This government kept calling for the rule of law, democracy and civil rights when it was in opposition. But it doesn’t want to give Nigerians that same right now that it is in government.”
He argued that the prosecution reflects a lingering “military mentality” in the nation’s democratic space.
In a related development, the Interim National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party (LP), Tony Akeni, described the move as hypocritical, recalling the 2012 Occupy Nigeria protests.
He said, “When Tinubu was in opposition, he led the masses and they carried an imitation coffin of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Nobody arrested them.”
Akeni argued that if the APC-backed DSS would prosecute Onukwume, then everyone who participated in the Occupy Nigeria protests should also be charged.
He added that his earlier declaration to resign from the LP had been rejected, saying, “My declaration to step aside has been rejected by all organs of the party.”
The Peoples Democratic Party acknowledged that calling for a coup is a serious matter, but said the young man’s comments reflect the harsh economic realities Nigerians are facing.
PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, Tim Osadolor, said, “The young man is only recounting the hunger, suffering and pains that Nigerians are going through daily.”
He added that the APC-led administration should be concerned that Nigerians are even contemplating a return to the military era.
Osadolor warned that the same freedom of speech guaranteed by democracy is what the young man is now being punished for.
He said, “Instead of victimising the young man, let the government sit up and do what is right to assuage the sufferings and killings going on unabatedly.”
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