A Northern advocacy group, the Northern Socio-Political Rights Network (NSPRN), has alleged that it rejected a N200 million bribe offered by political proxies to mobilise a protest against President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle.
In a statement released on Saturday in Kaduna, the group’s president, Mohammed Farouk Lawal, said the bribe was offered earlier in the week by individuals who claimed to represent high-ranking officials from Zamfara State. The alleged plan, according to Lawal, was to engineer a large-scale protest in Abuja accusing President Tinubu of shielding Matawalle from corruption investigations.
“We were approached by individuals claiming to represent powerful interests in Zamfara. They offered us N200 million to stage a protest and read scripted statements attacking the President and calling for Matawalle’s arrest,” Lawal revealed.
He described the proposal as part of a “calculated campaign” to discredit key Northern figures loyal to the President and to sow division ahead of the 2027 elections. “They are desperate for credibility and saw our group’s clean record and grassroots influence as a tool to further their agenda. But we are not for sale,” he said.
The NSPRN disclosed that the bribe offer included specific instructions to hold press conferences, stage a protest at the EFCC headquarters, and produce viral videos to stoke public outrage.
Lawal insisted the group’s refusal highlights that recent anti-Matawalle demonstrations were not organic, but rather sponsored efforts aimed at destabilising the government’s support base in the North-West.
He called on security agencies to investigate the sources of funds allegedly being used to sponsor such political protests. “If this is not curbed, it could undermine national unity and democratic stability,” Lawal warned.
The group reaffirmed its commitment to integrity and cautioned against allowing politics to endanger Nigeria’s peace and progress.
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