EDITORIAL: Attack on Obi: New IGP should bring perpetrators to book
Attack on Peter Obi in Edo
The scenes that unfolded in Benin City, Edo State, this week—shattered windshields, bullet-riddled gates, and the frantic scramble for safety—are a chilling preview of a movie Nigerians have seen too many times. The attack on Peter Obi, the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and members of the Obidient Movement is not just another headline in a crowded news cycle. It is a siren blaring a warning that the 2027 electoral cycle is already being lubricated with the threat of blood.
On Tuesday, February 24, 2026, armed hoodlums in Toyota Sienna vehicles trailed the convoy of the former Anambra State Governor and prominent ADC figures, including Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and Olumide Akpata. What began as a democratic exercise—a formal defection ceremony—ended with gunfire directed at the residence of a former National Chairman of the ruling party, APC. That such a brazen assault could occur at the home of an elder statesman is a testament to how little respect the architects of violence have for our institutions.
For too long, political thuggery in Nigeria has been treated as a convenient way of doing business. We have romanticised the “strongman” and looked away when “area boys” are recruited as the unofficial enforcement arm of political campaigns. But when the tools of engagement shift from canvassing for votes to spraying bullets at opposition convoys, we are no longer practicing democracy; we are witnessing a slow-motion coup against the will of the people.
The incident in Edo State is particularly concerning because of the backdrop of intimidation that preceded it. In July 2025, the Edo State government reportedly issued warnings that Peter Obi’s security could not be guaranteed if he entered the state without ‘permission’. When the state, which holds the monopoly on the legitimate use of force, begins to frame the movement of opposition figures as a security risk rather than a constitutional right, it provides a dog whistle for thugs to act with impunity.
The danger of 2027 lies in the desperation of a political class that has failed to deliver economic dividends and now relies solely on coercion to retain power. If an assassination attempt—as the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, described it—can be directed at a former presidential candidate and high-ranking party officials, what hope does the ordinary voter in a rural polling unit have?
Political violence creates a vacuum. It scares away the brightest minds from seeking office, it suppresses voter turnout, and it ensures that the ‘winners’ are not those with the best ideas, but those with the most ruthless militias.
To prevent the 2027 elections from becoming a theatre of war, the following must happen immediately: The Acting Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, and the DSS must move beyond ‘condemning’ the attack. There must be arrests and public prosecutions. Security agencies must prove they serve the Constitution, not the whims of incumbent governors; the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and INEC must implement strict penalties, including disqualification, for candidates or parties whose supporters are found to have orchestrated violence; Leaders across the APC, PDP, LP, and ADC must publicly denounce violence and rein in their foot soldiers. The era of inciting statements under the guise of security advisories must end.
Democracy is in danger, was the cry from Benin City this week. It was not an exaggeration. We can either choose the path of issue-based contestation or surrender our future to the rule of the bullet. The Edo attack is a stain on our national conscience, but it is also an opportunity for the government to show that it will not tolerate a descent into anarchy.
If the perpetrators of the Edo assault walk free, the message to every thug in the 36 states is clear: the season of violence is open. For the sake of our survival as a nation, that message must be intercepted with the full weight of the law. 2027 must be won at the ballot box, not in the hospital wing or the mortuary.
