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Amnesty International has said no Nigerian needs permission to visit any part of the country and no state is off-limits for any person or political party supporter.
Amnesty said this following the blockade of the 2027 Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi in Benue State.
“No Nigerian needs anybody’s permission or prior notification to visit any part of the country—at all times. No state is a no-go area for any person or supporters of any political party,” the rights group said in a statement on Tuesday.
Heavily armed youths unlawfully barricaded Gboko Road in Makurdi, the state capital, in what Amnesty described as a coordinated plan that endangered the opposition candidate and his entourage.
Amnesty said the Benue State Government has questions to answer for what it called a “brazen act of political repression.”
The group warned that the “harassment of rival candidates by state-endorsed armed vigilante groups or thugs is unlawful.”
“What happened today in Benue State is an unprecedented and dangerous act of political hooliganism that undermines the entire democratic process,” it said.
The rights group said it has been documenting “shocking level of political repression” since last year, including preventing hotels from hosting opposition political meetings and direct attacks on rival political activities.
Amnesty said, “We are seriously concerned that the Nigerian Government is doing very little to prevent political repression and violence. Some states have been implementing unpronounced policy of using all means of shutting out any political opposition.
“We are also concerned by the failure of the relevant authorities to investigate and bring to justice the suspected perpetrators of such acts.
“Political parties and candidates must make anti-violence and thuggery stance a clear and integral part of their elections campaign.”
Benue govt denies blocking Obi
Meanwhile, the Benue State Government has rejected Obi’s claims that he was blocked by thugs working for the state government from accessing Yelewata to console families of 2025 attacks.
In a statement, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Tersoo Kula, described the allegations as “unfounded and a desperate attempt to drag Governor Hyacinth Alia and the Benue people into what may be an internal political matter within the Nigeria Democratic Congress.”
“We wish to emphatically deny that the government of Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia has an idea of what Mr. Obi is talking about,” the statement read.
The government questioned the basis of Obi’s claim, saying it found it difficult to understand his attempt “to connect every fabrication with the Benue State Government.”
Based on his “antecedents of making untrue statements against the state,” the government said it doubted whether Obi even visited the state capital.
The statement noted that a presidential candidate arriving in a state would ordinarily attract security coordination involving the Commissioner of Police and other relevant agencies.
The government said Governor Alia “does not engage, patronise, or deploy thugs as instruments of governance or security,” adding that the administration relies on recognised security agencies to maintain peace and order.
“Let it be known that Mr. Peter Obi is not a threat to Governor Alia in any way. Even if he actually visited the state, and we realized that he is a threat to anyone, the security agencies are there to handle the issue, not thugs,” the statement said.
Benue: No state is a No-go Area for Any Person
Amnesty International deeply is concerned by the reckless and unlawful use of political thugs that blocked the presidential candidate of opposition NDC Peter Obi from entering Benue state. Benue state government has questions to… pic.twitter.com/Lf78RS3Siu
— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) September 8, 2026
