Etim Etim
Murder for political reasons is not rare in Nigeria, so when Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, said the other day that he might be assassinated before the 2027 elections, I was considerably alarmed. Only last February, Obi and his team were shot at in Benin in what his supporters claimed was an assassination attempt. Since then, the former Anambra State governor has been hinting at his frustrations with the government. It is therefore important that we listen to his recent fears.
Speaking in an interview Chude Jideonwo this week, Obi said Nigerian authorities are systematically frustrating his activities and targeting other opposition politicians. ‘’Every single thing I do for a living, this government is frustrating it. Deliberately so. So, there is even a possibility, if they have the opportunity, I will not be alive’’, Obi said. He however pointed out that he was not making a direct accusation against any individual, but noted that his experiences pointed to deliberate efforts to frustrate him or obstruct his activities. He cited an incident in Lagos airport in which his vehicle was clamped for ostensibly for wrong parking, whereas other vehicles were also parked at the same area and the officials ignored them.
But in a quick response, President Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said Obi was raising false alarm to ‘’attract undue sympathy’’. Onanuga said: ‘’His claim that he may not be alive for the January 2027 election and that people are being pressured not to invite him to social events is nothing more than a fabricated narrative, a page from his book of lies and propaganda.’’
But should we ignore Obi? Is he crying wolf to attract public sympathy as Onanuga claims? What do our experiences teach us as far as politically motivated murders are concerned? On February 24, 2026, Obi and other opposition politicians were nearly assassinated when armed men opened fire on a political convoy in Benin City, Edo State. The incident occurred following an event hosted by the African Democratic Congress (ADC), to which Obi belonged then. Other ADC dignitaries in the gathering were former Edo State Governor John Odigie-Oyegun and former Edo Labour Party governorship candidate, Olumide Akpata.
The event was a rally staged to welcome Akpata into ADC. Unmarked vehicles trailed the convoy from the ADC state secretariat where the rally was held to Oyegun’s private residence. Peter Obi and top political leaders escaped unhurt. But multiple vehicles sustained bullet damage and shattered windscreens. Several party members and supporters sustained injuries during the clashes at the secretariat and the residence. ADC and Obidient Movement representatives blamed political opponents for orchestrating a premeditated attack, with some pointing to previous security warnings issued regarding Obi’s visits to Edo State.
On December 23, 2022, Chief Bola Ige, the serving federal Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, was shot dead inside his bedroom in Ibadan, creating a massive political crisis. He was a member of the Action Congress (AC), and was murdered for allegedly blocking someone’s governorship ambition.
On March 5, 2003, Dr. Marshall Harry, the National Vice-Chairman (South-south) of the opposition All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), was murdered at his Abuja home. The following year, Chief Aminosoari Dikibo, PDP’s National Vice-Chairman (South-south), was ambushed and killed on a highway in Delta State on February 6, 2004. Both men were assassinated for the stance they took in the politics of their home state of Rivers.
On January 25, 2010, Otunba Dipo Dina, a prominent politician, chartered accountant and Action Congress (AC) gubernatorial candidate was returning to his Lagos residence from a political meeting in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Near Sango- Ota, an unmarked vehicle blocked his SUV. Armed men forced him out of his vehicle into another car, abducted him and shot him dead at close range. It is almost 20 years to the day Chief Funsho Williams, a leading Lagos State PDP gubernatorial aspirant, was killed in his home at Dolphin Estate, Lagos on July 27, 2006. He had earlier defected from Action Congress (AC) when it was clear to him that he was not the favoured candidate of the party for the 2007 election. The then-outgoing governor of Lagos, Bola Tinubu, had another person in mind as a successor.
In March 2011, Akwa Ibom ACN (Action Congress of Nigeria) governorship candidate in that year’s election, Senator John James Akpanudoedeghe, was almost killed when his convoy was ambushed on his way from Uyo to Ikot Ekpene for a campaign event. My younger brother, who was in his convoy, escaped by a whisker and called from the bush where he and other ran into. But others were not that lucky as they were hit by bullets. Akpanudoedeghe was challenging then-governor, Godswill Akpabio, who was going for reelection. Even before this ambush, many opposition figures in the state were kidnapped or murdered in a rash of violence that rocked the state between 2009 and 2011.
Nigeria has many cases of unsolved politically motivated murders. Many of the victims are typically persons who dared to challenge the incumbents or the preferred choices of the incumbents. We should therefore not dismiss Peter Obi’s alarm. The Federal Government has a responsibility to protect all leading politicians and save us from the agony of another political violence. It is therefore quite irresponsible of Onanuga for him to rush to judgment and dismiss Obi’s unease so casually.
* Etim, a journalist, writes from Abuja
