News

Journalist Alleges Threat To Life Over Leaked Video Exposing Tinubu Minister’s Alleged Atrocities In Coastal Road Project

BySodiq Yusuf

PublishedMarch 13, 2026

A journalist, Segun O’Law, has alleged Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Nweze Umahi of threatening his life over a leaked video which he claimed exposed alleged misconduct linked to the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Road project.

O’Law, while briefing the press on Thursday at the International Press Centre in Ogba, Lagos, claimed the minister sent him a WhatsApp message demanding a public apology over a video recording from a private meeting held at the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja.

The journalist noted that the recording captured remarks by Umahi during an August 2025 meeting with protest representatives over the controversial realignment of the Lagos section of the coastal road, which affected several properties, including WinHomes Estate owned by Mrs Stella Ukengu.

Explaining how the video came about, O’Law said, “In August of August, 2025, protesters gathered at the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja to protest the controversial realignment of the Lagos-Calabar coastal road at the Lagos section, which displaced many legally settled communities and developments along the corridor.

“Highlighted mainly among those affected at the protest was WinHomes Estate, whose CEO has publicly challenged the Minister’s justification of the realignment as a flippant and capricious, as against claims that the realignment was due to MTN or other marine cables along pathway of the original alignment. The protesters demanded due and proper compensation for those affected. During the course of the protest, some police and security officers protecting the ministry complex had confronted the demonstrators and tensions escalated.

“Based on my experience as journalist who had covered protests that degenerated to violence in the past, where journalists’ equipment were seized or destroyed irreparably with footages lost to the acts, I immediately activated my discreet recording gadget so as to preserve evidence in case the situation deteriorated.

“Eventually the protesters were asked to nominate representatives to meet the Minister in his office. Three of us were selected; Comrade Shina Loremikan for the Civil Society, Barrister Ahmad for WinHomes and myself as a journalist to observe the engagement.

“During the meeting, the Minister’s first utterances was to brag; ‘I’m a dangerous man’. He then went on to expose that he had personally ensured that the affected land belonging to the WinHomes CEO would not be restored, and that even the remaining would be acquired for other overriding public infrastructure. He said infarct, that he has decided that the remaining land is where he’s going to put toll gate.

“The delegates appealed to him to reconsider. After further discussion, the Minister suggested should bring some of her diaspora investors so that he’d take them to meet the President to consider releasing the remaining land to them. He welcomed the delegates and the meeting ended on what appeared to be a positive note.

“When the woman had this feedback, she made a video thanking the Minister and the President for the willingness to consider a resolution. But suddenly, few days after it, the Minister invited the media to the WinHomes portion of the coastal road at Okun Ajah, it was a sudden turn from what he had said at that protest meeting. He told the Media that the woman had lied about everything in the site. After his speech, he fielded questions from journalists, and because I was there, I asked him why the sudden change of position after he promised the protest delegates at his office in Abuja that they would go together to resolve things with the president, he condescendingly said the protesters were hired and dismissed the conclusions he reached with the delegates with promise to facilitate meeting with the President. He went further to threaten that the woman should be arrested and handed to EFCC and other agencies.

“I was taken aback. The woman had contacted me to check if the delegates had misrepresented what the Minister said at the meeting. Although there might have been some discrepancies in how other delegates gave their feedback, but I was so sure I heard everything the Minister said clearly. Then I remembered that the discreet recorder on the protest day was on till after the meeting. I quickly reached for it to see if the entire meeting was indeed captured and fetched the footages from there to enable her listen to it by herself. At least I wouldn’t appear as the liar nor the delegates who were in the meeting with the Minister.

“Many days later, the woman started sharing parts of the video to vindicate her position that the Minister was on a personal mission to frustrate her. I have personally not shared any single part of the video on my page because it wasn’t my intention to use it to malign or embarrass the Minister or anyone.”

Sodiq Yusuf

Sodiq Yusuf is a trained media practitioner and journalist with considerable years of experience in print, broadcast, and digital journalism. His interests cover a wide range of causes in politics, governance, sports, community development, and good governance.