Peter Obi claims threats amid Nigeria opposition clash over security and kidnapping rescue

Presidential candidate Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) warned that he faces a campaign of harassment and intimidation by security agencies, citing incidents such as the clamping of his car at an airport and suggesting he might not be alive to contest the 2027 election. He called for heightened protection for himself and other opposition figures.

Special Adviser Bayo Onanuga, a spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu, criticised ADC candidate Atiku Abubakar for remaining silent after the rescue of 39 pupils and seven teachers abducted in Oyo State in May. Onanuga praised Obi’s “thanksgiving” comment on the victims’ release while accusing Atiku of using the kidnapping as a political tool. The operation, carried out without negotiation, led to the arrest of eight suspected kidnappers and the neutralisation of several others.

Religious leaders also entered the debate. Pastor Enoch Adeboye defended President Tinubu’s handling of insecurity, while fellow cleric Odumeje (Chukwuemeka Ohanaemere) rebuked Adeboye, asserting that pastors should “rebuke a bad government.”

Ebonyi State Minister of Works David Umahi dismissed Obi’s threat claims, stating that “nobody wants Obi dead” and predicting he will lose the 2027 poll. Separately, Obi condemned the arrest and later release of Dr. Martin Aghaji, a surgeon linked to detained Biafran leader Nnamdi Kanu, calling the episode a sign of “growing disregard for the rule of law.”