The Benue State Police Command has arrested 46 persons over the alleged obstruction of Peter Obi\u2019s convoy during his visit to the state, as conflicting claims emerge over injuries and an alleged death and hospitalisation of 10 person following Tuesday\u2019s confrontation.<\/p>\n
The Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was travelling from Makurdi to Yelwata in Guma Local Government Area on Tuesday when his convoy was reportedly blocked along the Gboko-Makurdi Expressway.<\/p>\n
Obi was on his way to commiserate with residents affected by the June 13, 2025 terrorist attack in Yelwata when the incident occurred.<\/p>\n
The confrontation reportedly disrupted the former Anambra State governor\u2019s movement and triggered tension along the route.<\/p>\n
Addressing journalists in Makurdi on Wednesday, the Benue State Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiogbu, said 46 suspects had so far been arrested in connection with the incident.<\/p>\n
Nwadiogbu said the command was notified of Obi\u2019s visit at about 5:30pm on Monday, September 7, and subsequently deployed security personnel, including three police escort vehicles led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police.<\/p>\n
According to him, the convoy was later obstructed by a group of persons, creating a tense situation that could have escalated into violence.<\/p>\n
The commissioner said the police chose not to immediately deploy force because doing so could have resulted in loss of lives and destruction of property.<\/p>\n
He said Obi was eventually escorted safely back to the airport and departed the state without further incident.<\/p>\n
Nwadiogbu stressed that the police response should not be interpreted as inaction, saying the command immediately commenced intelligence-led operations to identify those responsible.<\/p>\n
\u201cKey arrests have been made, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend all other persons connected with the incident,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The commissioner maintained that the police remained neutral and professional, stressing that no individual or group had the right to unlawfully restrict another person\u2019s movement.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo individual or group has the right to unlawfully obstruct another person\u2019s movement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that the investigation was ongoing and that anyone found culpable would face the law.<\/p>\n
More than 10 injured taken to BSUTH<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, more than 10 injured persons were taken to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, following the incident, although the hospital could not confirm that they were victims of the reported confrontation involving Obi\u2019s convoy.<\/p>\n A hospital official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the injured persons were receiving treatment and responding to medical care.<\/p>\n \u201cOver 10 wounded victims were brought in here yesterday for urgent medical attention. They are being treated,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n The official added that the hospital could not establish where the victims came from or whether they were connected to the incident involving Obi.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we know is that they are accident victims and they are being treated. They are responding to treatment and none of them died,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n Efforts to obtain clarification from the hospital\u2019s Chief Medical Director, Dr Stephen Hwande, were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to calls placed to his telephone.<\/p>\n NDC alleges death of injured youth<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite the hospital\u2019s account, the Benue chapter of the NDC claimed that one of the youths allegedly involved in the confrontation had died while receiving treatment at BSUTH.<\/p>\n The party\u2019s state publicity secretary, Agile-Bem Jabez Ordedoo, made the allegation in a statement issued on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe regret to announce to you that one amongst the young men sponsored to attack the Presidential and Governorship candidates of NDC has passed on this morning at teaching hospital, Makurdi,\u201d Ordedoo said.<\/p>\n He claimed that the deceased had been deposited at the mortuary and that other injured youths were receiving treatment at the hospital\u2019s emergency ward.<\/p>\n The party also alleged that some of the injured youths had not been attended to because their parents had yet to arrive.<\/p>\n The alleged death could not, however, be independently verified as of the time of filing this report.<\/p>\n Obi accuses governor\u2019s aide<\/strong><\/p>\n Obi subsequently accused the Special Assistant to Governor Hyacinth Alia on Youths of mobilising youths to block his convoy.<\/p>\n The allegation has not been independently established, while the circumstances that led to the confrontation remain under investigation.<\/p>\n Nwadiogbu said the police had deployed undercover personnel to identify those responsible and establish their motives.<\/p>\n He explained that the visit had been presented to the command as a non-campaign engagement with families affected by the Yelwata crisis.<\/p>\n According to him, Obi\u2019s representatives had indicated that only a small number of people would accompany him, prompting the command to provide enhanced VIP security.<\/p>\n The commissioner further disclosed that he was personally handling a separate security crisis involving road blockades around Taka and Guma when he received information about the obstruction of Obi\u2019s convoy.<\/p>\n Nwadiogbu warned that security agencies would not tolerate actions capable of escalating political tensions as the country approaches the 2027 general elections.<\/p>\n He urged residents to remain calm and allow the police to complete their investigation.<\/p>\n The commissioner assured the public that the command would continue to act professionally while protecting lives and property.<\/p>\n The Benue State Police spokesperson, DSP Peter Orchia Aondongu, was unavailable for further comment.<\/p>\n For now, the police arrests are the clearest official development from the incident, while claims concerning the identity of those injured, their alleged involvement in the confrontation and the reported death remain unresolved.<\/p>\n The police investigation is expected to determine what triggered the confrontation, who organised the obstruction and whether anyone will face criminal charges over the incident.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Benue State Police Command has arrested 46 persons over the alleged obstruction of Peter Obi\u2019s convoy during his visit to the state, as conflicting claims emerge over injuries and an alleged death and hospitalisation of 10 person following Tuesday\u2019s confrontation. The Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was travelling from Makurdi to Yelwata […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":99792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8],"tags":[309,1811,8669,1546,2497],"class_list":["post-100170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-politics","tag-309","tag-1811","tag-nwadiogbu","tag-obi","tag-one"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=100170"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100171,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100170\/revisions\/100171"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/99792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=100170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=100170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=100170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}