Tinubu aide dismisses claims of convoy stoning

O’tega Ogra, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Digital Engagement, Strategy and New Media, has disputed claims that the president’s convoy was attacked by youths following his attendance at Friday prayers at the Shagari Central Mosque in Area 1, Abuja. Tinubu had visited the mosque in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for the Juma’at prayer on Friday.

However, Dino Melaye, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), later shared a video showing some youths throwing stones at a convoy believed to belong to the president. In the video, which has circulated widely on social media, some of the youths were heard chanting, “Ba ma yi, ba ma so”, a Hausa expression meaning “we don’t want you; we don’t support you”.

Reacting to the development, Ogra shared a separate video showing Tinubu leaving the mosque after the prayers. “Contrary to the narrative being pushed by the opposition, with videos of their alleged paid thugs at the National Mosque today, here is footage of Mr President leaving the mosque after Friday prayers this afternoon,” Ogra wrote. The footage showed Tinubu, dressed in a white outfit and black cap, waving to youths who cheered him and took photographs with their mobile phones as he made his way into his official vehicle.

Ogra’s response challenged the account circulating on social media. However, the footage he shared did not independently establish whether the incident captured in Melaye’s video occurred at another location along the president’s route. The development comes amid growing concerns over political violence ahead of the 2027 general election. In a statement he personally signed on Friday, Tinubu warned politicians and their supporters against resorting to violence, saying security agencies had been authorised to deal decisively with thuggery and other anti-democratic activities.

He condemned reported incidents of violence at political events across the country and urged political actors to focus their campaigns on issues affecting the welfare of Nigerians and national development. The president reiterated that violence had no place in political campaigns.