Public affairs analyst, Mahdi Shehu, has taken a swipe at Primate Elijah Ayodele over his recent prophecy alleging a coup plot against President Bola Tinubu.
In a post shared on X on Wednesday, the 15th of October, 2025, Shehu dismissed the prophecy as a product of a false spirit and accused the cleric of seeking public attention.
According to an online report, Primate Ayodele had claimed that “some powerful Nigerians are plotting to remove Tinubu through a coup” between November 2025 and January 2026.
Reacting to the statement, Shehu said that in a normal society, such a declaration should make the cleric an accessory to the offence of coup plotting, describing it as a treasonable act.
“In a normal society where suspects are not cherry picked, the primate must provide further details in public including names because he seems to know more than many Nigerians,” he said.
He added, “Before the primate is treated in the right manner, if he ever will be, all right-thinking Nigerians must ignore him and treat his so-called spiritual alert with caution and maturity.”
Shehu referenced several Bible passages warning against false prophets and deceptive spirits, stressing that some individuals exploit religion to gain relevance.
Quoting scripture, he said, “The Bible warned people against false prophets and speculation. Not everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit of God is truthful.”
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He also accused the public and security agencies of applying double standards, saying the reaction would have been harsher if a Muslim cleric made the same claim.
“If a sheikh or malam had made such a claim, the whole country would be in uproar, with news headlines calling for his arrest and even tribunal trial,” he said.
Shehu added, “Even the naive Nigerians are aware that coup is never an option, even in the face of the most stupid brand of democracy.”
He concluded by saying Nigeria has become a place where false alarms and hypocrisy thrive, urging citizens to reject divisive and baseless prophecies.