Ebonyi, Benue, Rivers and beyond: Is physical intimidation becoming the main strategy ahead of 2027?
By Ishaya Ibrahim
Despite video footage and several eyewitness accounts that the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, was blocked by thugs from accessing Yelewata community in Benue State on Tuesday, September 8, the state government denied that the incident occurred.
Obi said his convoy encountered thugs who mounted a roadblock on the Makurdi-Gboko federal highway while he was travelling to Yelewata to console families affected by the 2025 attacks.
But the state government, in a statement issued by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, denied any involvement in the incident and described Obi’s allegation as unfounded.
“We wish to emphatically deny that the government of Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia has an idea of what Mr. Obi is talking about,” Kula said.
The statement also questioned whether Obi visited Makurdi on Tuesday, citing what it described as his antecedents of making untrue statements against the state.
In Ebonyi State, where Governor Francis Nwifuru recently swore in local government chairmen, he warned them not to permit defeat in their respective constituencies.
One of the newly sworn-in chairmen, Eze Paul Ituma of Ohaukwu Local Government Area, was reported to have taken the message a step further. He reportedly declared that he would not allow anyone to “take garri from his mouth”, promising to do whatever was necessary to secure victory for his principal and party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In Rivers State, where Africa Democratic Congress (ADC) Vice-Presidential candidate Rotimi Amaechi buried his mother last week, a parallel event was held along the corridor of the community where the burial took place.
According to the ADC spokesperson in the state, Chizi Enyi, “The Nigerian Police have helped Wike to block a section of the Omagwa road in Rivers State, and this is the major road leading to Ubima, for the burial of Rotimi Amaechi’s late mother.”
There have been other incidents pointing to what could be a rough election campaign year ahead.
In August 2026, the Borno State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Saina Buba, threatened to cut off the fingers of political opponents, although he later retracted the statement and apologised.
Lawyer Dr Monday Ubani, SAN, has warned of the dangerous consequences of the politics of physical intimidation.
In a statement titled There Are Minimum Requirements: Nigeria Must Not Descend, Ubani said Nigeria’s political history is filled with painful examples of what happens when political competition degenerates into hatred and violence.
He said: “Operation Wetie in the South-West of Nigeria remains a grim reminder of the consequences of political intolerance during the First Republic. The elections of 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023 were similarly marred, in varying degrees, by violence, threats, intimidation and the tragic loss of lives.
“By now we should all be aware of minimum requirements for democratic conduct. Political opponents may disagree fiercely on policies, principles and ideology. They may expose one another’s failures, challenge one another’s records and campaign vigorously for the confidence of the electorate. But there must be limits. We must not descend below those limits. Nigeria is bigger than any political party or any election. One thing remains clear — political office is temporary. The consequences of political violence, however, can last for generations.”
