President Bola Tinubu‘s Senior Special Assistant on Digital Engagement, Strategy and New Media, O’tega Ogra, has challenged reports that the president’s convoy was attacked with stones by some youths in Abuja on Friday.

Tinubu had attended the Juma’at prayer at the Shagari Central Mosque in Area 1 of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Following the visit, Dino Melaye, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), shared a video on social media showing a group of youths throwing objects at a convoy believed to belong to the president.

Some of the youths could be heard chanting “Ba ma yi, ba ma so”, a Hausa expression meaning “we don’t want you; we don’t support you”.

The footage, which has since circulated widely online, sparked reactions over the president’s visit to the mosque.

However, Ogra offered a different account of the incident, sharing a video showing Tinubu leaving the mosque after the prayers.

In the footage, the president, dressed in a white outfit and black cap bearing his traditional insignia, was seen waving at a group of youths who cheered him and took pictures with their phones as he approached his official vehicle.

In a post accompanying the video, Ogra rejected the narrative surrounding the alleged attack, describing the footage shared by opposition figures as a misleading portrayal of events.

“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,” he wrote.

The disagreement comes amid heightened political tensions ahead of the 2027 general election.

On Friday, Tinubu warned politicians and their supporters against political violence, directing security agencies to deal firmly with thuggery and other anti-democratic activities.

In a statement personally signed by the president, he said security agencies had been authorised to confront acts of political violence with full force.

He condemned reports of violence at political gatherings across the country, urging political actors to focus their campaigns on issues that would improve the welfare of Nigerians and promote national development.

Tinubu maintained that violence had no place in the country’s political process. (Tribune)