Obi was in the state for his political campaign ahead of the 2027 presidential election, and to pay a visit to the Yelewata, where he was billed to meet and commiserate with victims of the June 2025 attacks.
Minister of Aviation and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Festus Keyamo has joined the list of those who lend their voices against the blockade of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, by angry youths in Benue State on Tuesday.
Obi was in the state for his political campaign ahead of the 2027 presidential election, and to pay a visit to the Yelewata, where he was billed to meet and commiserate with victims of the June 2025 attacks.
However, trouble started a few meters away from the airport when his convoy ran into a full roadblock on the two-lane Makurdi-Gboko federal highway by the angry youths.
The blockade led to traffic congestion as the road was closed to all users while the police did little to disperse the youths from the highway.
Reacting to the situation, the NDC presidential candidate called on young Nigerians to avoid being used as tools by the ruling class that has created the poor economic conditions they now live in.
“It is ridiculous. Our experience this morning is very very worrisome. We arrived Makurdi at 9 AM, but on our way to the Yelewata community, to console and show solidarity with the family affected by the killings of over 270 persons in that community, and support them in any way I can, only to be blocked by thugs shouting, ‘Peter Obi go back!. Peter Obi go back!’
“And I was wondering: are we still in Nigeria? Because, even the campaign I have started, I should be able to move around freely. But we didn’t want to go on and cause confusion and possibly endanger the lives of other people, so I decided to remain as civil as possible.
“I am using this occasion to appeal to the security agencies, the IG of police, and other agencies, to please intervene and be able to call various state governors to order. I was a state governor myself. This rascality cannot be allowed. We are a country, and can we confront these people on our own if these people cannot provide us with security?
“We can not go on this way. This is unacceptable”, Obi lamented.
On his past, Keyamo noted that the prevention of Obi from proceeding to the venue of his visit should be condemned by all.
“Whether the protest was as a result of internal squabbles within the NDC (as posited by the Benue State Government) or sponsored by the APC or any other rival party, this should not be part of our democracy.
“Some have also accused Obi of attempting to whip up fresh emotions by attempting to visit Yelwata where the unfortunate killings happened more than a year ago just for political reasons, hence the blockade.
“That is still not acceptable; everyone should be allowed to move about freely and play their politics without such crude interference.
“However, there is no better time to draw attention of Nigerians and the world to the spin that the partisan section of the media usually put to such incidents.
“Many a time when an angry crowd confronts or molests an APC candidate at any level, the partisan Press shamelessly dubs or spins it as ‘rejection’ by ‘Nigerians’. When it concerns the opposition, then it is ‘attack’ by ‘sponsored thugs’ or ‘hoodlums’.
“Just check most headlines today. This is what is unacceptable. In fact, many opposition leaders openly boasts that the APC candidates cannot go to some parts of this country and shout ‘APC!’ without being ‘stoned’, ‘beaten’ or molested, yet the partisan Press do not call out such leaders and even help to accentuate such statements. What is good for the goose is also good for the gander.
“The Press must extricate itself from such partisanship and be fair to all. Whoever is angry at any candidate of any political party should display the anger with the ballot paper on voting day by a simple thumbprint, not by violent acts during campaigns”, Keyamo stated in a tweet via his official X handle.
Benue State Denies Blockade
The Benue State Government on Tuesday rejected allegations by Obi that thugs working for the state government blocked him from accessing Yelewata community.
In a statement issued by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, the state government denied any involvement in the incident and described Obi’s allegation as unfounded.
The government said the claim was an attempt to drag Governor Hyacinth Alia and the Benue State Government into what it described as a possible internal political matter within the NDC.
“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.
The government said Obi was not a threat to Governor Alia, adding that even if he posed any security concern, recognised security agencies, rather than thugs, would be responsible for handling such a situation.
It said Governor Alia was committed to peace and the rule of law, insisting that his administration does not “engage, patronize, or deploy thugs as instruments of governance or security.”
