Treason! Presidency Says Turaki Deserves Death Penalty for Inviting Trump

By Zainab Adinoyi 

Nigeria’s political arena has erupted into full-blown chaos as the Presidency unleashes its most blistering attack yet on Tanimu Turaki, the new National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In a shocking escalation, the Presidency has declared that Turaki’s call for former U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene in Nigeria’s political crisis amounts to high treason — an offence that carries the death penalty under Nigerian law.

The firestorm ignited after Turaki, in a now-viral video, pleaded for Trump and other foreign powers to “step in and rescue Nigeria’s democracy” amid the deepening turmoil within the opposition party. The comment, which critics say dangerously flirts with inviting foreign interference in Nigeria’s internal affairs, has triggered an unprecedented backlash from Aso Rock.

Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga led the charge, blasting Turaki’s appeal as a “call for foreign invasion” and insisting it meets the threshold of treasonable conduct. His condemnation — delivered in a searing public post — has sent shockwaves through the political establishment, with ruling party loyalists calling for the government to “take decisive action to protect the nation’s sovereignty.”

Sources within the Presidency describe Turaki’s statement as “one of the most reckless political declarations in recent Nigerian history,” accusing him of undermining national stability at a time when tensions are already skyrocketing across party lines.

Within the PDP, officials are scrambling to contain the fallout, arguing that Turaki’s remarks were “figurative” and blown out of proportion. But analysts say the controversy has already escaped their control, fanning the flames of a rapidly intensifying national debate about loyalty, sovereignty, and the limits of political rhetoric.

As the storm rages, one thing is clear: Nigeria has entered a dangerous new chapter where political missteps can spark tremors of treason, and the battle for democratic legitimacy now threatens to spill far beyond partisan lines.