City Boy Movement Defends Lagos CP’s Presence at Inauguration Event
The City Boy Movement has come out to defend the presence of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Tijani Fatai, at the inauguration of its Lagos State chapter, insisting that his attendance should not be misread as political endorsement or evidence of institutional bias by the Nigeria Police Force.
The controversy began after a video of the Tuesday event in Ikeja circulated widely on social media, showing the police chief arriving at the venue, exchanging pleasantries with dignitaries, and walking through the gathering alongside security personnel and other attendees. The footage quickly sparked backlash, with many Nigerians raising concerns about the police’s neutrality ahead of the 2027 general elections, particularly given that the City Boy Movement was founded to canvass support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid.
In response to the mounting criticism, the group’s National Director of Media Monitoring and Rapid Response, Bashir Ahmad, issued a statement arguing that a police commissioner’s mere presence at a public function does not automatically translate to political alignment with the event’s organisers. Ahmad maintained that CP Fatai’s attendance was part of standard community engagement rather than a political statement.
The Lagos State Police Command also weighed in, defending the commissioner’s appearance as part of its broader strategy to strengthen collaboration with law-abiding community organisations in the fight against crime. Speaking at the event, CP Fatai himself stressed the importance of cooperation between security agencies and community groups in promoting peace and development.
However, not everyone was convinced. Public affairs commentators and activists criticised the visit as inappropriate for a serving police commissioner, arguing that if his presence was truly necessary, a junior officer could have represented the command instead. Critics also pointed to the optics of the commissioner mingling freely with guests at what they described as a clearly partisan gathering.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) went further, linking the commissioner’s appearance to a broader pattern it alleged shows the Tinubu administration co-opting supposedly neutral state institutions for political advantage ahead of 2027. The party cited this alongside separate allegations involving INEC’s election logistics contracting as evidence of a troubling trend.
In a related development, the CityBoy Movement’s Ogun State chapter moved to distance itself from a separate group calling itself “CityBoy Likeminds.” In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Adeyemi Ajasa, the Ogun chapter clarified that the group was not recognised at any level of its national, zonal, state, local council, ward, or polling unit structures, and warned the public against associating with its activities or being misled by unauthorised affiliates operating under a similar name.
The controversy underscores growing sensitivity around the perceived neutrality of Nigeria’s security agencies as political jostling intensifies in the lead-up to the 2027 general elections.
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