- Atiku condemns resort to political violene
A former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has lamented his near tragic encounter with gunmen in Edo State.
Reports said that gunmen, on Tuesday, attacked Obi’s convoy in Edo State on Tuesday.
Obi spoke in a video circulating online following the attack at the residence of former APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, where gunmen reportedly opened fire, riddling the gate and several vehicles with bullets.
“This is where our democracy has reached. A former governor, and you can see what happened in front of his house, where hoodlums came shooting.
“I assure you this cannot continue; we have a country, and we are a part of it. We cannot have terrorism and have officials in government terrorising the citizens.”
The incident reportedly occurred shortly after Obi, Odigie-Oyegun, and other political figures attended the formal declaration of Barrister Olumide Akpata into the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Benin.
A video from the scene showed visible bullet holes on the estate gate and damaged vehicles, indicating the intensity of the attack.
The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, said the attackers allegedly trailed the group from the ADC Secretariat to Odigie-Oyegun’s residence before opening fire.
According to him, the assailants shot at the gate and destroyed several official vehicles in what he described as a failed assassination attempt targeting the political leaders.
Meanwhile, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly condemned the assassination attempt on the lives of Peter Obi and other chieftains of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), in Edo State.
Atiku said the attack is “utterly condemnable and unacceptable in any democracy.
“In recent times, we have witnessed reckless and inflammatory rhetoric from elements within the ruling party in Edo State, rhetoric that dangerously legitimises violence against political opponents.
“Words, when weaponised, often precede actions. What happened in Benin did not occur in a vacuum.
“Nigeria is entering a perilous phase in which opposition voices are not only harassed through state institutions but are now being physically targeted. The ruling APC appears to have escalated its intolerance from bureaucratic suppression to open aggression.
“Bola Tinubu and the nation’s security chiefs bear a constitutional responsibility to guarantee the protection of lives and property without discrimination or partisanship. The safety of opposition leaders and supporters is not a favour; it is a democratic obligation.
“Nigeria must not descend into a theatre where politics is settled by violence.”
