In a chilling escalation of political violence, Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, and several high-profile opposition leaders narrowly escaped death on Tuesday after gunmen launched a brazen attack on their convoy in Benin City, Edo State. The assault, which aides have described as a “targeted assassination attempt,” has sent shockwaves through the Nigerian political landscape.
The incident occurred shortly after Obi, alongside former APC National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and former NBA President Olumide Akpata, left a political event marking Akpata’s formal entry into the African Democratic Congress (ADC). According to eyewitnesses and video footage from the scene, the group was trailed from the ADC Secretariat to Odigie-Oyegun’s private residence by armed individuals in unmarked Sienna vehicles.
As the convoy approached the residence, the assailants opened fire, riddling the estate’s gate and several backup vehicles with bullets. Photographs circulating online show multiple SUVs with smashed windshields and visible bullet perforations. “We are under siege,” stated Dr. Yunusa Tanko, National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement. “They shot at the gate and destroyed vehicles in what was clearly a failed attempt on our lives. Democracy is in danger.”
Peter Obi, who remained unharmed, later spoke to the press while pointing out the bullet holes in the gate. “This is where our democracy has reached,” Obi said. “A former governor’s house is being shot at in broad daylight. We cannot have a country where officials in government, or those they sponsor, terrorize the citizens.”
While the Edo State Police Command confirmed that a “political gathering was disrupted by hoodlums,” the official police statement was notably silent on the reported assassination attempt at Odigie-Oyegun’s home, leading to accusations of a cover-up by opposition figures. The ADC has linked the attack to a controversial “warning” issued by Governor Monday Okpebholo last year, where he reportedly cautioned Obi against visiting the state without security clearance.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and several civil society groups have condemned the violence, calling it a “stain on Nigeria’s democracy.” As the nation looks toward the 2027 electoral cycle, this attack in the heart of Edo State serves as a grim reminder of the high stakes and the deteriorating security environment for opposition voices.
