A former vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has sparked reactions on social media after a video surfaced in which he said defeating President Bola Tinubu would require what he described as “red eye” tactics rather than relying solely on court processes.

In the video shared on X on Thursday by user #_Dejii, Baba-Ahmed criticised Nigeria’s electoral and judicial systems, alleging that the Constitution was breached during the 2023 presidential election.

“I told Peter Obi, Supreme Court cannot give you governor and give you presidency. For God’s sake, stand up and do something. The Nigerian Constitution was clearly breached,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed drew parallels with the June 12 struggle, stating that political actors in the past aggressively defended their interests and mobilised Nigerians over long periods to challenge perceived injustice.

“Now if it was the June 12 people that you breached, not just the constitution, but breached one punctuation in their interest, I swear to God, nobody will sleep,” he added.

While expressing displeasure over what he described as constitutional abuse, Baba-Ahmed acknowledged that those in power were effective at organising and protecting their interests, saying, “So as much as I dislike the fact that they abuse the Nigerian Constitution, you must give it to them. They fight for their interests, they can organise June 12 rallies, they can keep it up for three decades.”

According to him, any opposition seeking to unseat Tinubu must be prepared to confront the system decisively.

He further alleged that individuals who resist the declaration of what he termed “fake results” are often portrayed as criminals, while those attempting to declare such results are shielded by law enforcement agencies and are termed as good citizens.

“You must show your red eyes if you’re going to defeat Tinubu, because on that day that they are declaring the result, the people declaring a fake result are criminals, and those who are stopping the declaration of fake results are good citizens.

“Whoever is going to defeat Tinubu must show red eye,” he emphasised, stressing that relying solely on court action may not be sufficient.

The remarks have since generated mixed reactions online, with some Nigerians agreeing with his criticism of the electoral process, while others faulted the comments.

Another user #Jasonabba also commented, “I am a strong Obedient and Igbo to the core but the day Datti decides to run for Election I wouldn’t look Obi’s way. And I’m dead serious.”

“Take this lightly if you will, but this man is indirectly calling for massive unrest and turmoil and he doesn’t strike me like someone to lead from the front when shit hits the fan,” #I_S_A_D said.

While some agreed with what Datti said, some other users opposed it.

“Are you people not tired? Tufiakwa! Slavery and suffering is evidently wired into your programming,” #TheAicøn wrote. (The PUNCH)