Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has condemned what he calls the excessive security detail assigned to President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi Tinubu, saying the level of armed protection “makes no sense” given Nigeria’s current security challenges.

Speaking at the 20th Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) Awards in Lagos on Tuesday, December 9, the literary icon said he recently encountered an unusually large security team attached to Seyi at a hotel in Ikoyi.

According to Soyinka, the scene looked like a movie set, with a heavily armed team about 15 officers, including SWAT operatives—surrounding the president’s son.

He recounted:

“I looked around and there was nearly a whole battalion occupying the hotel grounds. It looked enough to take over a small neighbouring country like Benin.”

Soyinka said he was so alarmed that he contacted the National Security Adviser (NSA) to confirm whether it was standard for the child of a head of state to move around with such overwhelming force.

He added that based on further inquiry, he learned that Seyi reportedly moves everywhere with this same level of military-grade protection.

The Nobel laureate concluded with a jab:

“Next time the president should just call and say, ‘Seyi, go and quell the rebellion over there.’”