Edo attack: Peter Obi thanks Nigerians; Recommits to national service
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, has thanked Nigerians for their “prayers, calls, and solidarity” following the gun attack on the premises of former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun in Benin City, Edo State, where he and some other leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) were at the time of the incident.
The attack on the ADC leaders has elicited mass condemnation across the country and beyond, with many warning that it is a bad signal of what could happen in the general elections in 2027 if the trend is not immediately checked and the perpetrators fished out and made to face the law.
Apart from Mr. Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State, who is currently a chieftain of the ADC, and Chief Odigie-Oyegun, also a former Governor of Edo State, other ADC leaders who experienced the attack include Professor Oserheimen Osunbor, another former Governor of Edo State and Olumide Akpata, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), who was the governorship candidate of the LP in the last Edo state governorship election.
Akpata and his supporters had finished decamping from the LP to the ADC at the party’s secretariat and the dignitaries had left the venue for Chief Odigie-Oyegun’s residence before suspected political thugs first unleashed violence on the ADC faithful still at the party’s secretariat before descending on the residence of the elder statesman where they reportedly shot sporadically, hitting the gate of the house and damaging vehicles.
Mr. Obi, in his thank you message, on his X (former Twitter) platform, stressed that the support of the people over the incident has strengthened his faith “in our shared humanity and our collective hope for a better Nigeria,” noting further that his “deep gratitude” is reflected in his renewed commitment to serve and build the nation.
He pointed out that “Experiences of lawlessness are not new to me. Years ago, the violence and insecurity in Anambra shaped my determination to seek the governorship of the state, convinced that leadership must restore order, security, and public trust. Today, the growing lawlessness across our country calls upon all men and women of goodwill to step forward—not in fear but with a sense of responsibility.”
He stressed that “As Plato reminded us, the price good people pay for refusing to participate in government is to live under the rule of bad people.”
Obi noted further that “this moment urges Nigerians to be even more resolute in electing leaders defined by competence, commitment, character, and compassion—leaders who prioritise the nation above self and service above power,” concluding that “Together, with courage and unity, we can build the peaceful, secure, and prosperous Nigeria our people deserve.”
