ADC denounce attack on Peter Obi, others in Benin

By Lawrence Agbo

The attack on Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, and many party leaders in Benin, the capital of Edo state, has been denounced by the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Yunusa Tanko, national coordinator of the Obidient Movement, said in a post on X that Obi and a few party leaders were attacked on Tuesday at the home of ADC chieftain John Odigie-Oyegun.

After officially welcoming Olumide Akpata, the 2023 LP governorship candidate for Edo, into the party at the ADC secretariat, Tanko said the event happened soon after they got back.

Bolaji Abdullahi, the national publicity secretary for the ADC, called the attack “a grave and disturbing development” in a different post on X, stating that it represents a significant blow to the nation’s democracy.

Abdullahi connected the incident to a speech given by Edo Governor Monday Okpebholo in July 2025, in which he “warned” Obi not to enter the state without his consent.

“We didn’t know at the time that the governor’s threat would include an assassination plot,” the ADC spokesperson said.

Intimidation and violence are “the weapons of those who fear the will of the people,” he said.

He says that such acts are a disgrace to Nigerian democracy and that everyone who values freedom must denounce them.

Abdullahi reiterated that the ADC would not back down or bend down, stating that the party will remain unwavering, speak fearlessly, and carry on the nonviolent fight for a Nigeria in which everyone is free and the opposition is not punished.