LAGOS, Nigeria — A Lagos-based media executive and journalist has gone public with allegations that Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Nweze Umahi, sent him a threatening WhatsApp message demanding a public apology , or face jail , over a secretly recorded video capturing the minister allegedly confessing to abusing his office.
Segun O’Law, CEO of Objectv Media, made the disclosure at a press briefing at the International Press Centre in Ogba, Lagos on Thursday, March 12, 2026, presenting what he described as a coordinated campaign to silence him.
According to O’Law, on the morning of Sunday March 8, 2026, he received a WhatsApp message from an unsaved number which the sender later identified as belonging to the Honourable Minister of Works. Along with a link to a TikTok video warning about the legal consequences of sharing private conversations, the sender wrote: “U came to my office and secretly videoed our conversations and shared. U have no right to do that with all the respect I gave to u. I thought that by now, u would have repented and publicly apologize to me. U have not done that. I still give u opportunities to do so on my terms but if u don’t, then.”
O’Law said he responded politely and expressed willingness to talk, but the minister reportedly replied: “This is HMW and I will not do any conversation with you other than my request above.” O’Law said he subsequently verified the phone number and confirmed it belonged to Minister Umahi.
Background: The Coastal Road Protest
The events trace back to August 2025, when protesters gathered at the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja over the controversial realignment of the Lagos-Calabar coastal road, which displaced several communities and developments along its corridor. Among those most vocal was Mrs. Stella Ukengu, CEO of WinHomes Estate, whose property was affected and who had publicly disputed the minister’s justification for the realignment.
O’Law was among three delegates , including a civil society representative and a lawyer for WinHomes — who were invited into the minister’s office to meet with Umahi. During that meeting, O’Law alleges, the minister opened by declaring “I’m a dangerous man,” and went on to state that he had personally ensured WinHomes’ affected land would not be restored, and that additional portions of the estate would be acquired for a toll gate.
Crucially, O’Law says the minister also suggested he would facilitate a meeting between WinHomes’ diaspora investors and President Tinubu to explore a resolution , a promise that was later publicly denied. When the minister subsequently invited the media to the WinHomes site and contradicted what the delegates said had been agreed, O’Law recalled that he had been running a discreet recorder during the original protest, which had captured the entire office meeting.
He says he shared the recording with Mrs. Ukengu to help her verify what was actually said, but that he had not personally published it. Days later, the WinHomes CEO began circulating portions of the video herself.
Fears for Personal Safety
Beyond the threatening message, O’Law disclosed that he received intelligence warning him that his SIM card and device were likely being tracked via IMEI. He said he acted on the advice, and that the minister’s threatening message arrived shortly after he had changed devices — suggesting, in his view, that direct contact became necessary once remote tracking became impossible.
O’Law also referenced disturbing reports from Umahi’s tenure as Governor of Ebonyi State, including allegations of engineers who “disagreed with him” disappearing, and a woman reportedly seized from Lagos and transferred to Abuja for challenging the minister.
He further recounted that during the August 2025 protest meeting, delegates had pleaded for the release of a young man named Obanla, who had reportedly gone missing from the WinHomes construction site after soldiers allegedly took him on the minister’s orders. According to O’Law, the minister whispered instructions to a Permanent Secretary at the meeting — and the following day, Obanla was released, though reportedly in a severely emaciated and traumatised condition.
Minister Umahi had not responded to the allegations at the time of this report.
