A Northern advocacy group, the Northern Socio-Political Rights Network (NSPRN), has alleged that it turned down a N200 million bribe offered by proxies to stage a protest against President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle.
In a statement released on Saturday in Kaduna, NSPRN claimed the offer was made earlier in the week, with specific instructions to publicly accuse President Tinubu of shielding Matawalle from corruption investigations.
Mohammed Farouk Lawal, President of NSPRN, described the alleged plot as part of a broader campaign to undermine the Federal Government’s influence in the North-West by discrediting key figures loyal to the president.
“We were approached by individuals claiming to represent high-ranking officials in Zamfara. They offered us N200 million to organise a large-scale protest in Abuja, targeting President Tinubu and Matawalle,” Lawal stated.
He further explained that the objective of the planned protest was to create a false narrative that the northern region had turned against Tinubu, driven by supposed outrage over the president’s alleged protection of certain ministers from investigation. “We rejected the offer outright,” he added.
Lawal asserted that those behind the attempt were desperate for credibility and saw NSPRN’s clean record and grassroots support as a potential asset for amplifying their agenda. “They thought buying us over would amplify their lies. But we are not for sale,” he said.
The terms of the proposed deal, according to Lawal, included reading out pre-written statements at press conferences, staging protests at the EFCC headquarters, and producing viral videos demanding Matawalle’s arrest.
NSPRN stated that the bribe attempt confirmed suspicions that recent protests against the Minister of State for Defence were not genuinely grassroots-driven.
“What is happening is an internal war against Tinubu’s appointees. We have it on good authority that these attacks are designed to cause disaffection ahead of 2027. But this group will not be part of it,” Lawal declared.
The group urged security agencies to investigate the sources of funds allegedly being used to sponsor political protests in the capital, warning that unchecked political manipulation could threaten national stability.
