Atiku condemns attack on Obi, Odigie-Oyegun, others in Benin; Tasks Tinubu, security chiefs
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the violent attack, yesterday, on African Democratic Congress (ADC) leaders, including presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi and former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
Abubakar, a chieftain of the ADC, in a post on his X (former Twitter) platform, described as “utterly condemnable and unacceptable in any democracy,” the attack, which saw gun shots fired at the gate of the residence of Chief Odigie-Oyegun, also a former Governor of Edo state, and the destruction of some vehicles, while the political chiefs were inside the premises.
According to Abubakar, the attacks on the party chiefs, which also included Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor and Olumide Akpata, “did not occur in a vacuum,” as “in recent times, we have witnessed reckless and inflammatory rhetoric from elements within the ruling party in Edo State, rhetoric that dangerously legitimises violence against political opponents.” He noted that “Words, when weaponised, often precede actions.”
He lamented that “Nigeria is entering a perilous phase in which opposition voices are not only harassed through state institutions but are now being physically targeted,” pointing out that “the ruling APC appears to have escalated its intolerance from bureaucratic suppression to open aggression.”
