The Okun Development Association (ODA), the umbrella socio-cultural organisation of the entire Okun people of Kogi State, has condemned in the strongest terms the harassment, intimidation and blockade of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, outside Chatham House in London on Thursday, November 12, 2026.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Dayo Thomas, and issued under the leadership of its President, Amb. Rotimi Akenson, the Association described the incident as shameful, irresponsible, undemocratic and completely un-Nigerian.
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The ODA said it watched with shock, pain and total disapproval the viral video and reports of what happened to Prof. Amupitan, whom it described as a proud son of Okun land.
According to the Association, Prof. Amupitan was in London on a legitimate national assignment. He had been invited to Chatham House, the world-renowned British policy institute, to speak on a panel titled “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot,” an event organised in partnership with Kimpact Development Initiative.
It said the event was an opportunity for Nigeria to explain itself to the world, to answer hard questions, and to show that the country is preparing seriously for its next general elections.
Inside the hall, the statement said, Prof. Amupitan conducted himself with openness and candour. He fielded difficult questions, detailed INEC’s operational readiness to deliver free, fair and credible elections in 2027, and spoke frankly on the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, strategies to mitigate network failures, artificial intelligence safeguards for cleaning the voter register, and the funding and logistics required for a credible poll.
The ODA noted that he even openly admitted that the technical glitches that marred the transmission of results in the 2023 elections eroded public trust in the Commission, a rare admission it said demonstrated humility, honesty and a genuine desire to rebuild confidence.
The Association said what should have remained a proud moment of intellectual engagement degenerated into an ugly spectacle the moment he stepped out of the venue.
It said a group of Nigerian diaspora protesters encircled and surrounded the black vehicle conveying him, pressed against the car, blocked his movement, waved placards and demanded that he come out.
In the circulating video, voices could be heard shouting: “People are angry. This wicked, evil man, you are a criminal. Why are you running?” and “Why are you running? Come out and talk to us. Call police for us. He needs to come out and talk to us.” One placard boldly read: “Amupitan, no more election fraud.”
The ODA said the incident, which stretched from outside the venue to around the UK Parliament area, became so tense that it required the intervention of security agents and Chatham House officials before he could leave safely.
The protesters claimed they were angry over alleged irregularities in the preliminary voter register ahead of the 2027 polls, including claims of AI-generated entries, duplicate entries and fake polling units.
The Association said it recognises that these are serious concerns that deserve to be investigated and addressed, and it does not dismiss the right of any Nigerian to ask questions about the integrity of the electoral process.
“But no grievance, however strongly felt, justifies mobbing a man, blocking his vehicle, calling him a criminal without any court conviction, and attempting to humiliate him in a foreign land. A grievance does not become legitimate because it is shouted loudly, and a cause does not become just because it is pursued unjustly,” the statement read.
The ODA argued that Prof. Amupitan is first and foremost a Nigerian citizen, entitled under Sections 33, 34, 35 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, and under universal human rights law, to the right to life, dignity of the human person, personal liberty and freedom of movement.
It said no citizen, no matter the office he holds, deserves to be mobbed, insulted, blocked and dehumanised in a foreign land, adding that being INEC Chairman does not remove his humanity.
“An attack on him is an attack on the Okun people and on the dignity of Kogi State. The Okun Development Association will not fold its hands while our son is humiliated abroad,” the Association said.
It added that it knows his character, his integrity and his commitment to justice, and it refuses to allow a false and hasty narrative to define a man who has spent his life in service to law, to education and to Nigeria.
The Association said it believes deeply in democracy, in free speech and in peaceful protest, but stressed that there is a clear line between protest and harassment, between free expression and mob action, and that line was crossed in London.
“Surrounding a man’s vehicle, preventing him from moving, calling him a criminal and shouting him down is not protest. It is harassment, intimidation and mob action. It is against British law, against Nigerian values and against democratic norms,” it stated.
The ODA maintained that Prof. Amupitan has not conducted the 2027 election and should be judged by his work, and held accountable through proper democratic and legal channels, not attacked before the contest itself.
“To condemn a referee before the match has started is not justice, it is prejudice. Grievances about the voter register, about technology and about INEC’s preparations should be channelled through INEC itself, through the courts and through the National Assembly, not through street ambush in London,” it said.
The Association therefore called on the United Kingdom Metropolitan Police and the authorities of Chatham House to investigate the incident, identify the organisers, and ensure that such harassment of a visiting Nigerian official never happens again.
It also called on the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigerian High Commission in London to formally protest the incident and to demand full protection for Prof. Amupitan and for all Nigerian officials on official assignment abroad.
It called on Nigerians in the Diaspora to be good ambassadors of the nation, stressing that disagreement must not become disgrace.
The ODA further called on all political actors, commentators and citizens to grant the INEC leadership the calm and institutional space it needs to carry out its constitutional mandate without fear or favour.
The Association recalled that it had earlier warned against the witch-hunting of the INEC Chairman and urged that all grievances be addressed strictly through constitutional and legal channels, rather than through inflammatory public statements.
“We stand firmly with Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN. We pray for him, we encourage him, and we urge him not to be distracted by noise and intimidation. His tenure must be allowed to strengthen public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process. An injury to one Nigerian is an injury to all Nigerians, and an attack on the dignity of one Okun son is an attack on all of us,” the statement concluded.
