Benue Youths Prevent Peter Obi from Visiting Yelewata Village

* Presidential candidate condemns action

* We were not aware of his visit, says Benue govt 

George Okoh in Makurdi

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, was on Tuesday stopped by some Benue youths from visiting Yelewata community in Guma Local Government Area of the state, where he was scheduled to make personal donations to victims of the June 13, 2025 armed herdsmen attack. 

Obi, who arrived in Makurdi Tuesday morning, was on his way to Yelewata when the youths blocked the Makurdi-Gboko Road less than two kilometres from the airport, chanting ‘Obi go back, Obi go back.’ Some of the youths were reportedly wielding sticks and throwing stones as security personnel deployed in the area watched the development. 

Following the confrontation, Obi and members of his team turned back and returned to the airport, where he boarded his aircraft and left the state. 

Speaking before leaving, Obi described the development as ridiculous and very worrisome, saying he had travelled to Benue to sympathise with families affected by the killings and support victims of the Yelewata attack. 

He said: “It is ridiculous and very, very worrisome, our experience this morning. We arrived Benue, Makurdi precisely this morning at 9am, on our way to the Yelewata community to condole and show solidarity to the families affected by last year’s killings. 

“As you know, there have been killings of over 270 persons in that community and I felt as we were starting our campaign that I should go around and be able to visit and condole the families, show respect to the dead and the community, support them in any way I can. 

“Only to arrive Makurdi this morning and trying to drive out, I was blocked by taeming thugs, shouting ‘Obi go back, Obi go back.’ And I was wondering, are we still in Nigeria? Or am I in another country?

“But we know that even the campaigns have started, so I should be able to move around freely. But I discontinued because I didn’t want to say we must go on as we have our own teaming crowd, but not wanting to cause confusion and possibly endanger the lives of other people. I decided to remain as civil as possible.” 

He appealed to the security agencies, particularly the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and other relevant authorities, to intervene and ensure that political campaigns were conducted peacefully across the country. 

Obi said: “I am using this occasion to appeal to the security agencies, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, the Director of DSS and other agencies to please intervene and be able to call various state governors to order. This rascality cannot be allowed. 

“We have a country and we too have followers. We have people who can confront these people on our own if the state and the government can no longer provide us security. We cannot go on this way. It is unacceptable.” 

He said the 2027 presidential campaign should be centred on issues affecting Nigerians, including insecurity, kidnapping, hunger, killings and poverty, rather than violence and confrontation. 

According to him, “I participated yesterday in the commissioning of the office of the Presidential candidate of APM appealing that we need unity, love, justice, and let this campaign be concentrated on ideas, issues that concern Nigerians today of insecurity, kidnapping, hunger, killing and everything and how we are going to pull our people out of poverty. That is what it should be. 

“I am not here to contest elections for office of the Governor of Benue State. I have chosen as a presidential candidate that I want to visit every community, visit across Nigeria, which is what I’m urging other presidential candidates to do. 

“Go around Nigeria so you can feel the people, see their faces, ask them questions and they ask you questions about what you want to do for them to be able to ameliorate the suffering Nigerians are going through today. That is why I am here today. Nothing else. 

“I call on the youths that are being used. The abuse you are allowing them to use you for today will take its revenge on you. I have a lesser number of years to live in life. People are using you. They are not using their children. They are not using their relations. They are using you to stop opportunity of building a better life for you. 

“All I want is to have a Nigeria where a child of nobody can be somebody without knowing anybody. Where no Nigerian will go to bed without having food in his stomach. Without knowing where the next meal will come from. That’s all we want.” 

The NDC presidential candidate said Benue had the agricultural capacity to feed Nigeria but lamented that insecurity and lack of economic opportunities had deprived many youths of sustainable livelihoods. 

He said: “Look at Benue, the state can feed Nigeria. It has arable lands where you can farm yam and lots of food crops. But today it has become a place where thugs thrive because they have no means of livelihood. And that is what we want to change.” 

Obi further urged politicians and their supporters to avoid actions capable of plunging the country into anarchy, saying political contests should be determined by ideas and policies. 

“We are not coming here fighting anybody because our elections will be run on ideas, on issues. And I urge people to please let’s concentrate on that. Let’s not allow a country to get into anarchy. Anarchy consumes everybody,” he said. 

The former governor, who served for eight years in Anambra State, said he found it difficult to believe that the incident could have occurred without the knowledge of the state government and security agencies. 

“I have been governor myself. I know that this cannot happen without the government and security agencies in this state being fully aware that I am here. I was governor for eight years and I know the system very well. And this couldn’t have happened while I was there. Even if it happens I will intervene,” he said. 

Obi also argued that there was no justification for preventing him from moving around the state because campaigns had commenced, adding that he was not visiting Benue on election day. 

“This is a campaign period. I did not come here on election day so you cannot say I came disturbing the election. I did not come here when there was no campaign. Remember last time I wanted to come, the governor said he did not want to see me. I turned back. But now is the election period where as a presidential candidate I am free to move around because election campaigns have started. 

“So what they would have been doing is urging other presidential candidates to come and see things for themselves. I came to Benue to see things for myself,” he said.

Reacting to the incident, the NDC governorship candidate in Benue State, Prof. Terhemba Shija, who was at the scene, condemned the action of the youths and praised Obi for refusing to escalate the confrontation. 

Shija said Obi’s response demonstrated the kind of leadership he believed the former governor would provide if elected president. 

He said: “His sagacious approach to what has happened now means that he’s ready to take this country forward. And secondly, I will talk about our state. Our state has not known peace for a long time and it appears somebody who wants to do things differently is being stopped.” 

Shija said those who blocked Obi were in the minority, insisting that many politicians and residents in the state had now aligned with the NDC presidential candidate. 

“You remember when Peter Obi contested for the presidency three or four years ago, in spite of all the rigging, he was marginally defeated by 2,000 votes. Then a lot of us were not with him. Most of the politicians in Benue State have seen the light and we have teamed up behind him. There’s no way a group in the minority is going to defeat us,” he said. 

He added: “Now that we have seen how they want to approach it, we want to assure them that we are ready for them. We are going to launch a campaign in a week’s time and nobody will stop us. This is our state.” 

Shija also decried the security and humanitarian situation in Benue, alleging that more than one million displaced persons were living in IDP camps across the state. 

“Look, this state has suffered a lot. The government has normalized the suffering. Over one million people are in IDP camps. There are a lot of ungoverned spaces in this state and a lot of places you go in Benue. There are no schools, no markets, no social activity. 

“You can’t go to Guma Local Government Area, you can’t go to Sankara when you are bereaved because you can’t. It’s insecure. This is somebody who has shown promise that he can do things differently and Nigerians will smile. We will stand by him, we will go according to his values and we will take this state for him and for the rest of Nigeria,” he added. 

However, the Benue State Government distanced itself from the incident, saying it was not informed about Obi’s visit to the state. 

Commissioner for Information Solomon Iorpev while reacting to the development, said: “A high profile person who has been former governor of a state is coming into the state, he should have written a letter to the state government. We are supposed to guarantee his safety and protection but an instance where no letter was written, we could not guarantee his safety. This is not the first time he did this. He is just looking for our trouble. We are peace loving and hospitable people.

“When you are coming to the state you are supposed to inform the chief security officer of the state who is the governor and that was not done. So we were not aware of his coming and we are not aware of the youths responsible.” 

The Benue State Commissioner of Police, Mr Cletus Nwadiogbu, however, in his account concerning the security arrangements for the visit, said the police command was informed about Obi’s planned visit on Monday night. 

Nwadiogbu said the command deployed personnel to provide security for the presidential candidate on his journey to Yelewata. 

According to him, “I also asked the AC Operations to personally lead the men. But unfortunately on his arrival, we heard that youths blocked the roads saying they did not want to see him. We tactically managed the situation but we are investigating why they took that decision.” 

According to the police commissioner, Obi’s decision to turn back helped prevented the situation from escalating. 

“The man is very responsible, when that happened he went back and boarded his plane and left,” he said.