Some worshippers at the Shehu Shagari Central Mosque in Abuja on Friday booed President Bola Tinubu as his convoy drove out of the premises after the Juma’at prayer.
Videos of the incident, which have since gone viral, captured the crowd shouting anti-Tinubu slogans as the presidential motorcade departed.
Witnesses told Premium Times that the outburst was largely a reaction to the security measures put in place for the President’s visit.
According to one of them, Tinubu arrived at about 1.49 pm, after which security operatives sealed off the mosque, blocked access roads and prevented other worshippers from entering.
Some security personnel were said to have climbed the mosque’s fence as part of the arrangement. The witness added that after the prayers, worshippers inside the mosque were not allowed to leave until the President had gone.
Frustrated by the restrictions, some members of the congregation began chanting “Ba mayi, ba ma so,” Hausa for “We are not supporting you,” while others shouted “Tinubu Must Go.”
Another worshipper described the security arrangement as excessive.
“People were stopped from entering the mosque after the president had entered. Several people were stuck outside,” he said, adding that the chants began from the section where people were barricaded.
The Presidency, through the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Digital Engagement, O’tega Ogra, had earlier dismissed reports of an attack on the convoy, sharing a video of Tinubu waving to cheering supporters as he left the mosque.
Ogra accused the opposition of using paid thugs to stage the protest.
