Several women-led organisations have thrown their weight behind the Minister of Works, David Nweze Umahi, insisting that allegations currently circulating online should be subjected to judicial scrutiny rather than social media trial.
At a joint press briefing in Abuja on Sunday, March 1, 2026, the groups said claims made by Mrs Tracy Nicholas Ohiri lack documentary backing and must be properly tested in court if they are to be taken seriously.
The organisations include Women Advocates for Responsible Governance (WARG), Women for Justice and Institutional Integrity (WJII), Coalition of Patriotic Nigerian Women (CPNW), and National Women Alliance for Rule of Law (NWARL).
Speaking on behalf of WARG, its National President, Dr Amina Yusuf, said the group was not opposed to women speaking out, but against what she described as “reckless allegations being weaponised without proof.”
She questioned the credibility of claims involving an alleged ₦24.5 million transaction said to have occurred in 2015, noting that such sums could not reasonably change hands without contracts, invoices, acknowledgements, or formal records.
“Nearly a decade later, there is no contract, no invoice trail, no formal demand letter and no court filing. Instead, what we see are emotional videos. Governance is not theatre,” she said, asking why no legal action was taken years earlier if the claim was genuine.
Also speaking, Hajia Halimat Bello, Executive Director of WJII, said justice must be anchored on evidence and institutional discipline, not sentiment.
“The minimum threshold of commercial credibility has not been met. A transaction of ₦24.5 million cannot exist without documentation. If such a supply occurred, where is the procurement process and where is the civil recovery suit?” she asked.
She warned that emotionally framed allegations, when unsupported by proof, could undermine public confidence in legitimate grievances across the country.
For CPNW, Mrs Folake Adeyemi described the narrative as illogical, arguing that no serious business arrangement of that magnitude would go nearly ten years without written agreements, legal notices, arbitration, or litigation.
“As women committed to national stability, we cannot remain silent while a serving minister overseeing critical infrastructure is distracted by allegations that fail basic scrutiny,” she said.
NWARL representative, Dr Grace Onuoha, focused on the wider implications for democracy, warning that the rule of law is weakened when social media replaces the courts.
“Public officials must be accountable, but accountability must follow due process. File a claim, present evidence and allow the courts decide. Nigeria cannot operate on viral verdicts,” she stated.
The groups stressed that their position was based on principle, not personality, and called on Nigerians to reject what they described as trial by ambush.
They urged that the allegations be tested through competent legal institutions, insisting that claims must be proven in court, not performed for cameras.
