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Minister of Aviation and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Festus Keyamo, has condemned the blockade of the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Development (NDC), Peter Obi, by youths in Benue State, describing the incident as unacceptable in a democracy.
Obi was in Benue on Tuesday as part of his campaign activities ahead of the 2027 presidential election and to visit Yelewata, where more than 270 people were killed in attacks in June 2025.
His convoy was reportedly stopped by a crowd of youths on the Makurdi-Gboko federal highway, leaving the road blocked and causing significant traffic disruption.
Reacting to the incident, Keyamo said the circumstances surrounding the protest should not determine whether the action was acceptable, arguing that political disagreements must not prevent candidates from moving freely or campaigning.
“Whether the protest was as a result of internal squabbles within the NDC … or sponsored by the APC or any other rival party, this should not be part of our democracy,” Keyamo said in a statement shared on his official X handle.
He also rejected the argument that Obi’s planned visit to Yelewata was politically motivated because of the sensitivity of the 2025 killings, saying such concerns did not justify preventing him from accessing the community.
According to Keyamo, candidates of all political parties should be allowed to campaign without intimidation or obstruction, while disagreements with politicians should be expressed through lawful democratic processes.
He, however, criticised what he described as partisan reporting of political confrontations, arguing that similar incidents involving ruling-party candidates were sometimes presented as evidence of public rejection, while attacks involving opposition politicians were described as actions by sponsored thugs or hoodlums.
Keyamo urged the media to maintain fairness in reporting political incidents, while calling on Nigerians who oppose candidates to express their views through the ballot rather than violence during campaigns.
Meanwhile, the Benue State Government has denied involvement in the blockade. In a statement by Governor Hyacinth Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, the government described Obi’s allegation that state-backed thugs obstructed his movement as unfounded.
The state government said Alia had no reason to deploy thugs against Obi and maintained that any genuine security concern involving a political candidate should be handled by recognised security agencies, not unofficial groups.
