{"id":99816,"date":"2026-07-27T20:15:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T20:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=99816"},"modified":"2026-07-27T20:15:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T20:15:39","slug":"lawyers-sue-tinubu-agf-igp-dss-over-alleged-threat-to-peter-obis-life-seek-court-ordered-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=99816","title":{"rendered":"Lawyers Sue Tinubu, AGF, IGP, DSS\u00a0Over Alleged Threat\u00a0to Peter Obi’s\u00a0Life, Seek Court-Ordered Security"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Yemi Oyeyemi<\/strong>, Abuja.<\/p>\n

A group\u00a0of lawyers under\u00a0the aegis of\u00a0the\u00a0Obidient Lawyers Forum\u00a0has filed a\u00a0fundamental rights\u00a0enforcement suit at\u00a0the Federal High\u00a0Court in Abuja, seeking an order\u00a0compelling President Bola\u00a0Tinubu to direct\u00a0security agencies to\u00a0provide special protection\u00a0for the\u00a0presidential candidate\u00a0of the Nigeria\u00a0Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, ahead of the\u00a02027 general elections.<\/p>\n

The suit, marked\u00a0FHC\/ABJ\/CS\/1648\/2026, lists President Tinubu, the Attorney-General\u00a0of the Federation\u00a0(AGF), the Inspector-General of Police\u00a0(IGP), the Director-General of the\u00a0Department of State\u00a0Services (DSS), and\u00a0the Governor of\u00a0Edo State, Senator\u00a0Monday Okpebholo, as\u00a0respondents.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs, represented\u00a0by Barristers Okere\u00a0Kingdom Nnamdi and\u00a0Joseph Enemona Ameh, argued that the\u00a0application became necessary\u00a0to prevent Obi\u00a0from becoming a\u00a0victim of political\u00a0violence or assassination\u00a0before and during\u00a0the 2027 electioneering\u00a0process.<\/p>\n

According to the\u00a0lawyers, the suit\u00a0was prompted by\u00a0comments allegedly made\u00a0by Governor Okpebholo\u00a0suggesting that Obi’s\u00a0life and security\u00a0could not be\u00a0guaranteed in Edo\u00a0State if he\u00a0entered the state\u00a0without first obtaining\u00a0approval from the\u00a0governor.<\/p>\n

In the originating\u00a0application, the plaintiffs\u00a0are asking the\u00a0court to declare\u00a0that Obi is\u00a0constitutionally entitled\u00a0to freedom of\u00a0movement and should\u00a0be allowed to\u00a0travel, reside and\u00a0conduct lawful political\u00a0activities anywhere in\u00a0Nigeria without intimidation, harassment or threats\u00a0to his life.<\/p>\n

They also seek\u00a0a declaration affirming\u00a0Obi’s right to\u00a0life under Section\u00a033(1) of\u00a0the 1999 Constitution\u00a0and an order\u00a0restraining any government\u00a0authority, individual or\u00a0group from subjecting\u00a0him to politically\u00a0motivated coercion, intimidation, harassment or victimisation\u00a0on account of\u00a0his political beliefs, ethnicity, religion or\u00a0any other reason.<\/p>\n

The lawyers further\u00a0requested the court\u00a0to declare that\u00a0Obi has the\u00a0constitutional right to\u00a0enter, reside in\u00a0and freely move\u00a0across all 36\u00a0states of the\u00a0federation and the\u00a0Federal Capital Territory\u00a0to conduct political\u00a0consultations, campaign\u00a0rallies, meetings and\u00a0other lawful activities\u00a0without fear of\u00a0intimidation or violence.<\/p>\n

In addition, they\u00a0asked the court\u00a0to declare that\u00a0the alleged statements\u00a0attributed to Governor\u00a0Okpebholo\u2014that Obi’s\u00a0safety could not\u00a0be guaranteed in\u00a0Edo State and\u00a0that he should\u00a0not enter the\u00a0state without clearance\u2014were unconstitutional,\u00a0unlawful, anti-democratic\u00a0and amounted to\u00a0an abuse of\u00a0executive authority.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs also\u00a0urged the court\u00a0to affirm that\u00a0the President, as\u00a0Commander-in-Chief\u00a0of the Armed\u00a0Forces, has a\u00a0constitutional obligation\u00a0to protect the\u00a0lives and property\u00a0of\u00a0all Nigerians and\u00a0to direct security\u00a0agencies to provide\u00a0adequate protection for\u00a0Obi and other\u00a0presidential candidates.<\/p>\n

They argued that\u00a0the Police, DSS\u00a0and other security\u00a0agencies are legally\u00a0empowered to safeguard\u00a0the lives and\u00a0property of citizens\u00a0and should therefore\u00a0be compelled to\u00a0provide maximum security\u00a0and intelligence coverage\u00a0for Obi.<\/p>\n

Among the reliefs\u00a0sought is an\u00a0order directing the\u00a0President to instruct\u00a0all relevant security\u00a0agencies to provide\u00a0comprehensive security\u00a0protection for Obi\u00a0and all other\u00a02027 presidential candidates.<\/p>\n

The suit also\u00a0seeks an order\u00a0compelling the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General\u00a0of the DSS\u00a0and other relevant\u00a0security agencies to\u00a0immediately deploy adequate\u00a0security personnel and\u00a0intelligence resources\u00a0for Obi’s protection.<\/p>\n

In an affidavit\u00a0supporting the suit, the plaintiffs stated\u00a0that the action\u00a0was brought on\u00a0Obi’s behalf pursuant\u00a0to Paragraph\u00a0as baseless, unlawful\u00a0and inconsistent with\u00a0constitutional democracy, insisting that the\u00a0security agencies have\u00a0both constitutional and\u00a0statutory responsibilities\u00a0to protect the\u00a03(e) of\u00a0the Preamble to\u00a0the Fundamental Rights\u00a0(Enforcement Procedure)\u00a0Rules, 2009.<\/p>\n

They further referred\u00a0to remarks allegedly\u00a0made by Obi\u00a0during a recent\u00a0live podcast in\u00a0which he reportedly\u00a0said he “may\u00a0not be alive\u00a0to contest next\u00a0year’s presidential election.”<\/p>\n

According to the\u00a0affidavit, Obi has\u00a0been subjected to\u00a0psychological trauma arising\u00a0from repeated threats\u00a0to his life, which the plaintiffs\u00a0contend violate his\u00a0constitutionally guaranteed\u00a0rights.<\/p>\n

The deponent maintained\u00a0that no authority\u00a0or government official\u00a0has the constitutional\u00a0power to restrict\u00a0a Nigerian citizen\u00a0from entering or\u00a0leaving any part\u00a0of the country\u00a0to carry out\u00a0lawful activities.<\/p>\n

The affidavit further\u00a0alleged that Governor\u00a0Okpebholo warned Obi\u00a0against entering Edo\u00a0State without his\u00a0permission and claimed\u00a0that the former\u00a0Anambra State governor’s\u00a0security could not\u00a0be guaranteed in\u00a0the state.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs described\u00a0the alleged remarks\u00a0as baseless, unlawful\u00a0and inconsistent with\u00a0constitutional democracy, insisting that the\u00a0security agencies have\u00a0both constitutional and\u00a0statutory responsibilities\u00a0to protect the\u00a0lives and property\u00a0of all citizens.<\/p>\n

They also argued\u00a0that the fundamental\u00a0rights guaranteed under\u00a0Chapter IV of\u00a0the 1999 Constitution\u00a0are inalienable and\u00a0cannot be curtailed\u00a0except in accordance\u00a0with the law.<\/p>\n

No date has\u00a0yet been fixed\u00a0for the hearing\u00a0of the suit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Yemi Oyeyemi, Abuja. A group\u00a0of lawyers under\u00a0the aegis of\u00a0the\u00a0Obidient Lawyers Forum\u00a0has filed a\u00a0fundamental rights\u00a0enforcement suit at\u00a0the Federal High\u00a0Court in Abuja, seeking an order\u00a0compelling President Bola\u00a0Tinubu to direct\u00a0security agencies to\u00a0provide special protection\u00a0for the\u00a0presidential candidate\u00a0of the Nigeria\u00a0Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, ahead of the\u00a02027 general elections. The suit, marked\u00a0FHC\/ABJ\/CS\/1648\/2026, lists President Tinubu, the Attorney-General\u00a0of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":99792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1546,877,56],"class_list":["post-99816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-obi","tag-security","tag-tinubu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99816","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=99816"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99817,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99816\/revisions\/99817"}],"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=99816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}