Daily Trust Editorial, Thursday March 5, 2026
In what signals a looming tendency for political intolerance in the Nigerian political ecosystem, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party at the 2023 presidential elections, along with John Odigie-Oyegun, a former governor of Edo State and Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), along with several stalwarts of the opposition Advance Democratic Congress (ADC), were attacked on Tuesday, February 24, in Benin, the Edo State capital.
The highlight of the meeting was to receive a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olumide Akpata, who was also the governorship candidate of the Labour Party at the 2023 elections, who was defecting to the ADC.
It was reported that unidentified gunmen opened fire during a gathering of the ADC, which resulted in confusion and panic. As the ADC dignitaries and members made their way to the residence of Chief Oyegun, the gunmen followed suit, where the violence intensified with sporadic and indiscriminate shooting.
As confirmed by Yunusa Tanko, the Interim National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, “Peter Obi and the leadership of the ADC came under siege and attack in Benin City, Edo State, where armed men shot at the gate of the residence and damaged several vehicles in what I believe was an assassination attempt by the gunmen.”
Although Peter Obi and top party leaders narrowly escaped harm, some individuals in the entourage sustained injuries in the pandemonium, requiring treatment at nearby hospitals.
The incident left many Nigerians wondering whether we are not moving back to the years of intolerance and violence during political events.
Months earlier, Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo had publicly cautioned Peter Obi not to visit Edo State without prior notification. He had declared that Peter Obi should not enter the state without informing relevant security agencies, citing security issues that came up during a previous visit to the state by Obi.
We are glad that the Department of State Security (DSS) had arrested one person for making statements purportedly admitting to carrying out the attack in a statement he posted on his X account. While the arrest is useful, as the authorities will need to question him on who his accomplices are and who must have sponsored the attack, wider concerns and questions, however, remain.
Nigerians could not help but note that the attack on Peter Obi signposts a worrying trajectory of violence within and among political parties and political individuals as the political season gradually gets into gear. Already, there have been reported cases of politically linked violence involving factions of political parties, supporters and followers of politically connected individuals, as well as between political parties.
While we are all for political competition among political parties and individuals within the same political parties, which is one of the hallmarks of democracy, we must hasten to add that this must be done with decorum and decency in an atmosphere that advances our democracy, not stifles it.
We condemn the incident involving the attempt on Peter Obi, as it represents a descent into the depths of political intolerance which the country can ill afford.
In this wise, we must state it on record that Governor Okpebholo’s remarks asking Peter Obi to first seek permission from him before visiting the state are out of order. It not only represents a veiled threat, but also an attempt to deny Obi’s constitutional right to freedom of movement and association. The governor, who swore on the Constitution, ought to know that the same document that grants him rights as chief executive of a state also allows individuals to exercise their rights unfettered within the law.
Going forward, the looming surge in politically related violence is a challenge to the Nigeria Police, especially under the new dispensation of the newly appointed Inspector-General of Police, as well as other security agencies, to work hard proactively to nip such incidences in the bud in the run-up to the 2027 elections.
The police and other security agencies must investigate and arrest the perpetrators of the incident and bring them to justice as a deterrent to all those who intend to commit political violence in the political space.
Nigeria cannot afford to add political violence to the retinue of security challenges bedevilling the country.
