Tension gripped Benue State’s capital, Makurdi, on Tuesday after suspected political thugs, allegedly working on the orders of the state governor, blocked the convoy of Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), and prevented him from reaching communities affected by recent killings in the state.
Obi had travelled to Benue to commiserate with residents of areas hit by a spate of killings and to express solidarity with victims of the state’s lingering insecurity crisis. Shortly after his convoy arrived, however, it was stopped along Boko Road, near the Nigerian Air Force Base, by a group of youths who barricaded the route and, according to eyewitness accounts, moved aggressively toward the vehicles.
Obi’s media aide, Esther Umoh, first raised the alarm on social media, sharing videos of the barricade and of people running behind vehicles believed to be part of the convoy, which she said were attempts to attack the entourage as it tried to move. Security operatives at the scene reportedly did nothing to disperse the crowd or clear the road.
Addressing journalists where his convoy was stopped, a visibly frustrated Obi said he had been informed that the youths blocking his path were sponsored by the state governor. “I am here in a place where people have been killed. I am here to commiserate with them, but now I have been told that youths sponsored by the governor have blocked the road and made sure I do not go in,” Obi said. He said he had waited at the location for some time seeking clarity on why he was being denied access. “I have been standing here since. We cannot have a country like this. It does not make sense to me. The rascality is totally unacceptable,” he said, adding that his visit was not a campaign outing but a condolence call. “People are being killed every day in Benue. People want to condole them and show that they are with them. I came here only to be told we cannot go in.”
Benue is governed by Hyacinth Alia, a former Catholic priest who won the state’s 2023 governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The state has faced repeated attacks and killings blamed on herder-farmer clashes and armed bandits in recent months, drawing visits from opposition figures and civil society groups.
The Benue government, through the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, appeared to distance the administration from the incident, questioning why the state would need to deploy thugs if it wished to bar anyone from entry.
The alleged blockade drew swift condemnation from other opposition figures. Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the last election, described the incident as a “state-sponsored blockade and attack” in a statement issued after watching videos of the confrontation. He accused agents of the Benue State Government and the administration of President Bola Tinubu of orchestrating the obstruction.
“I strongly condemn these acts of political brigandage by agents of the state government and the Tinubu regime. This is totally unacceptable,” Sowore said, adding that “no candidate should be prevented through violence, intimidation or state-sponsored thuggery from campaigning freely anywhere in Nigeria.” He warned that “those behind these cowardly attacks are toying with fire and threatening the democratic rights of all Nigerians” and urged that “they must desist immediately before it is too late.”
As of the time of filing, there has been no official response from the Benue State Government or the police command addressing the specific allegation that the blockade was governor-sponsored.
