On The Picketing Of City Boy Movement Headquarters In Abuja

Earlier today, a group of persons picketed the City Boy Movement headquarters in Abuja, claiming to be protesting insecurity.

We will not dress this up. What happened at our office was not a genuine protest. It was a sponsored political action aimed at provoking confrontation, intimidating our members, and pinning a false narrative on the City Boy Movement. That is what it was, and that is what we will call it.

Insecurity is a serious national concern. It is not a joke, not a slogan, not something any responsible Nigerian should dismiss or play politics with. Families have suffered and communities have been devastated. Every citizen has the right to demand that government acts.

This government has acted, is acting, and will continue to act. On this same day, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, addressed the nation and told those terrorising our people in plain language: “surrender, or face the full force of the Nigerian State. The window of surrender will not remain open forever. No mercy will be shown to those who trade in the blood of Nigerians.” The City Boy Movement stands solidly behind this.

Terror-related deaths are down 81% since 2015. Over 13,000 terrorists have been neutralised in the past year. The 2026 budget commits ₦5.41 trillion to defence and security, the largest in our history. Only just yesterday, those responsible for the papiri church attack were sentenced by the courts. This is a government that is fighting. Anyone who says otherwise is either not paying attention or has reasons for wanting Nigerians not to pay attention.

So when people show up at our gate, on a day like this, pretending nothing is being done, we know exactly what we are looking at. That is not concern. That is politics. And bad politics at that.

The City Boy Movement wishes to be very clear about something else. In video footage from today’s incident, one of the individuals present was heard calling for our property to be set on fire. That is not protest. That is a threat of arson. The footage has been preserved and will be made available to the relevant security and law enforcement agencies. Anyone involved should be in no doubt: we will pursue this matter to the fullest extent of the law.

Your right to peaceful protest is guaranteed. Nobody disputes that. But what happened today was not peaceful in any meaningful sense. And even where protest is peaceful, that right does not give anyone the licence to threaten others, obstruct their work, invade their space, or attempt to disenfranchise fellow Nigerians from freely associating with a political movement of their choice.

1. Your right to protest does not cancel another citizen’s right to participate.

2. Your right to speak does not include the right to silence others.

3. Your right to assemble does not include the right to intimidate those who disagree with you.

There is a difference between protest and provocation, between advocacy and ambush, and an even larger difference between demanding security and weaponising insecurity for politics. We will not allow anyone to use the pain of Nigerians as a mask for political blackmail.

_We say this especially to young Nigerians: be careful_. Do not allow yourselves to be used by people who do not care about your pain, your safety, your future, or your country. The people who send others to cause trouble often sit safely somewhere else. It is ordinary young people who end up bearing the consequences. Do not let them use you.

Some people have chosen to refuse to see what this government is doing. That is their right, and their business. But we will not be drawn into their pessimism about the future of a country that is on the right track under President Tinubu. We have work to do, and we will do it.

The City Boy Movement will not be intimidated. We will not be distracted. We will not be stampeded into silence. We have notified the appropriate authorities and will continue to cooperate with security agencies to protect our members, staff, visitors, and property.

Our doors remain open to sincere dialogue. But we will not submit our organisation to harassment, blackmail, threats, or political manipulation disguised as protest.

Nigeria belongs to all of us. No group has the right to shut another out of the democratic space. And on a day when the President has told terrorists point-blank that their time is running out, it is disgraceful that anyone would rather harass fellow citizens than stand with their country.

Signed,
O’tega Ogra
Deputy Director-General, City Boy Movement
(Media, Communications & Public Affairs)
June 12, 2026