Dozens of protesters on Friday, the 12th of September, 2025, staged a march from the National Assembly to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation in Abuja, voicing anger over what they called the harassment of the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim.
The demonstrators, a mix of human rights advocates, civic groups, and concerned Nigerians, held up placards and banners, denouncing the development and stressing that “no civil servant has the right to challenge a minister.”
Their action came in response to a September 10 episode in which employees of the Federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs shut the gates of the ministry, preventing the minister from entering. The workers, who turned out in large numbers, sang protest songs and demanded her removal, citing years of neglect and poor working conditions.
Speaking to reporters at Friday’s march, Emmanuel Lawal, Director of Public Enlightenment at the Centre for Accountability and Public Engagement, condemned the workers’ move, calling it an assault on authority.
He said, “We are not unaware of sinister plots both from her Nasarawa home state and even at the centre where she currently serves as a Minister of the Federal Republic.
“We note with regret that some persons have now allowed themselves to be used, inciting workers, indeed civil servants, instigating protests and causing embarrassment to the government of Nigeria.”
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Lawal argued that Sulaiman-Ibrahim’s track record speaks for itself, pointing to her previous positions as Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Federal Commissioner at the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, and Minister of State for Police Affairs.
Despite these accomplishments, he said, efforts are underway to discredit her.
“We are not unmindful of the grand plot to castigate you, tarnish you before the public and destroy your hard-earned reputation and unblemished record of service.
“We therefore call on President Bola Tinubu to intervene by looking into the issue and calling them to order. No civil servant has the right to challenge a minister. And of course, we know the attack on the minister was politically motivated,” he added.
The protest highlights simmering friction between government workers and political officeholders at a time when the Tinubu administration is under pressure to address welfare issues and ensure accountability across ministries and agencies.