Babalola dismisses claims protesters represented diaspora Nigerians, says nearly 200 attended Amupitan’s London engagement
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 witnessed the incident on Thursday, dismissed claims that the demonstrators represented Nigerians in the diaspora, describing them as a small group of between 10 and 15 individuals.
In a statement, the lawyer described reports and videos circulating on social media as a misrepresentation of events, insisting that the protesters did not reflect the views of Nigerians living in the United Kingdom or the wider diaspora community.
“Diaspora Nigerians? Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said.
Babalola explained that Amupitan’s engagement at Chatham House, titled Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot, was successfully held, with the INEC chairman delivering his presentation and responding to questions from participants.
The controversy followed a demonstration by a group of individuals outside the venue as Amupitan was leaving. The protesters reportedly blocked his vehicle and demanded that he address allegations of irregularities in the voters’ register, while calling for his resignation over claims that INEC had compromised its independence.
However, Babalola maintained that the demonstration took place after the formal engagement and did not disrupt the programme.
He further alleged that some protesters wore memorabilia associated with Peter Obi and that the situation eventually attracted the attention of Chatham House security before the individuals dispersed following the involvement of the police.
The lawyer also claimed that he encountered some members of the group later on Jermyn Street, where he allegedly witnessed a man wearing New Democratic Congress (NDC) memorabilia paying them.
Recounting the encounter, Babalola said some of the individuals hurled insults at him after recognising him, but he chose to ignore their comments.
He also disputed suggestions that the Chatham House engagement was poorly attended, stating that the physical audience comprised nearly 200 participants, mostly Nigerians who had registered for the event.
According to him, approximately 374 people also registered and participated in the programme online, reflecting considerable interest in the discussion.
Babalola said he was visible in some of the videos circulating on social media, standing near the main entrance of Chatham House between approximately 2:22pm and 2:45pm.
He insisted that Amupitan was neither disgraced nor interrupted during the engagement, adding that the INEC chairman fulfilled his responsibilities as a panelist.
The lawyer, however, acknowledged the right of Nigerians to express political opinions and stage peaceful protests against public office holders, stressing that such actions should not be used to misrepresent an entire community.
He cautioned against what he described as the deliberate distortion of events for political purposes, maintaining that legitimate protests should be distinguished from attempts to create misleading narratives.
Babalola also said his intervention was intended to correct what he considered inaccurate accounts of the incident and should not be interpreted as a defence of any political party.
The controversy comes amid growing scrutiny of INEC’s preliminary voters’ register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The commission recently disclosed that it removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations following a review of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise, alongside 873 records belonging to deceased persons, bringing the total number of deleted records to 1,609,533.
INEC also identified 54 individuals across 10 states over alleged registration infractions.
The allegations surrounding the Chatham House demonstration have yet to be independently established, while no response from the protesters addressing Babalola’s claims was contained in the account.
