The presidential candidate of the the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi and fa ormer Edo Governor John Odigie-Oyegun have claimed they narrowly escaped death after gunmen stormed a political meeting in Benin City in a hail of bullets.
The terrifying attack unfolded shortly after leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) welcomed former Nigerian Bar Association president Olumide Akpata into the party.
Eyewitnesses said armed men burst into the ADC secretariat on Ogbelaka Street, firing shots wildly and smashing property before heading to Odigie-Oyegun’s home on Reservation Road.
Cars parked outside were riddled with bullets. Party members ran for safety. Several people were reportedly injured.
Obi said they had received a chilling intelligence warning midway through the meeting that an attack was imminent — and decided to wrap up early.
“We were just barely lucky,” Odigie-Oyegun said, revealing security agencies had tipped them off. “Halfway through the proceedings, we got information that the place was going to be attacked.”
Moments after they left, chaos erupted.
Obi, visibly shaken in a video, blasted authorities, saying: “It is time to speak up. It is time those in government act. They are not going to be there forever.”
Standing outside Odigie-Oyegun’s bullet-marked gate, he added: “Look at the gate. Look at the bullet holes. That is where our democracy has reached.”
The Edo chapter of the ADC pointed fingers at the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing it of masterminding the violence — a claim strongly denied by both the party and the state government, who insisted the disruption stemmed from internal disagreements.
Police confirmed the attack but said no deaths were recorded. A spokesperson stated that suspected hoodlums damaged chairs and canopies after the event and that investigations were underway.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar slammed the violence, warning that Nigeria “must not descend into a theatre where politics is settled by violence.”
With tensions now soaring in Edo State, opposition leaders are warning that political intolerance is reaching dangerous levels — while authorities insist the situation is under control.
But for those who fled the gunfire, the message was clear: Nigeria’s political temperature is rising — and fast.
