Nigerian cybernauts have continued to knock Femi Gbajabiamila, President Bola Tinubu’s chief of staff, over an expose on his heist in the United States of America.

Peoples Gazette on Monday dug into Mr Gbajabiamila’s dubious past as a legal practitioner in Georgia, exposing how the State Bar of Georgia terminated his law licence for stealing money from clients and violating membership rules.

Mr Gbajabiamila, who was the Speaker of the House of Representatives until June 2023, had previously stolen money from a client in the U.S. and was punished in 2007 by the Georgia Supreme Court, but he offended again, leading to the revocation of his law practice in the state.

“He can no longer practice law in the state of Georgia,” an official told The Gazette. “He’s done.”

The report saw Mr Gbajabiamila’s name trend on X, formerly Twitter, throughout Monday and into the early hours of Tuesday, sparking reactions with many labelling him “Thief of Staff” in mockery of his current official position as the chief of staff of the president of Africa’s most populous nation.

An X user, Ikye_nwabuko, said, “Chineke! Chief of Staff is actually Thief of Staff. Ndi Oshi everywhere,” reacting to Mr Gbajabiamila’s law licence revocation by a U.S. panel over legal infractions. 

Sharing a screenshot of The Gazette’s exposé on Mr Gbajabiamila, @ubongabCardinal wrote, “Hello Thief of Staff can you honourably resign and save our nation this embarrassment.”

Another X user, @trendwithola, said, “Anytime I see Femi Gbajabiamila trend, it’s not always for something good. If it’s not corruption, it’ll be oppression. Is Chief of Staff now same as Thief of Staff? The blood is flowing from their Principal.” 

Reacting to the same story, @Unigwevictor said, “Thief of Staff. Can the president just show diligence and sack these vermins surrounding him but, well he is their leader.”

While many berated Mr Gbajabiamila and called for his resignation, some believed the chief of staff would not resign his job over the expose because corruption thrives in Nigeria. 

Daniel Regha tweeted, “Femi Gbajabiamila is the current Chief of Staff. Now that the U.S. legal panel has reportedly terminated his law licence over violating bar rules, will the FG make an example of him? That’s the problem. Yakubu has been called out repeatedly by Nigerians, but he’s still in office.”

@Doc_steena expressed pessimism, “If they make an example, make I bend. This is government of the criminals, by the criminals and for the criminals. Crimocracy!!!”

However, Mr Gbajabiamila, who declined to answer questions on his stealing client’s money and the final revocation of his law practice in the U.S. when reached by The Gazette, has yet to make any statement even as criticisms and calls for his resignation continue to make his name trend on X. 

Similarly, the presidency has kept mum over the story exposing Mr Gbajabiamila’s stealing in the U.S.