Benue State Government Says It Was Unaware of Obi’s Visit

The Benue State Government has said it was unaware of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi’s visit to the state after his convoy was obstructed by suspected thugs on Tuesday.

Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, told Punch in an interview after the incident that the government was unaware of Obi’s visit.

“As presidential candidate of a party and former governor, he is a property of federal government and ought to have been given security. Where are those security agents around him? And if he is going to any state, the security of the host state should know so as to provide security for him,” Tersoo said.

The press secretary said he was surprised that youths allegedly stopped the NDC presidential candidate and distanced the state government from the incident.

“We were surprised that youth would stop someone. Youth cannot do anything on behalf of government. Our government doesn’t patronise thugs and, in any case, Obi is not a threat to the governor. We are not aware that Obi is coming to Benue. I am hearing it from you,” he said.

Obi said he travelled to Benue on Tuesday for what he described as a humanitarian visit to Yelwata, where he intended to sympathise with families affected by the June 2025 massacre and other deadly attacks.

However, the NDC Benue State governorship candidate, Terhemba Shija, said Obi’s team had officially informed security agencies about the visit.

“Is Obi not a presidential candidate? INEC has lifted the ban on campaigning, and we duly informed the police and DSS about his visit to the state; they deployed police and DSS to be with us,” Shija said.

“But government is aware that INEC has lifted ban on campaign, do we need to take permission from candidate?” the professor asked.

The Benue State Police Command also confirmed that Obi’s team notified it of his visit to the state.

The command’s spokesperson, Peter Aondongu, said the reason some youths stopped Obi’s convoy from proceeding remained unknown.

“We can confirm that the Police are aware of the incident involving Peter Obi’s movement to Yelwata. Police operatives provided security for the movement,” Aondongu said.

“The reason the convoy was blocked by some youths is still unknown. We are monitoring the situation and investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“Further updates will be provided accordingly,” he said.