Anambra State-born human rights lawyer and lead counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has described the blocking of the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Party (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, from entering Benue State by youths loyal to Governor Hyacinth Alia as deeply disturbing.
Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, Esq., who holds the traditional title of Dunu-Ezeugosinachi, stated this in his:
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According to him, what Nigerians are witnessing at the very threshold of the 2027 electioneering season is not the robust contest of ideas expected in a democracy, but the frightening emergence of political intolerance, intimidation and organised thuggery.
He said the blockage of Peter Obi and members of his entourage while on a private engagement in Benue State was profoundly disturbing.
According to him, more alarming was the unrestrained activity of heavily armed political thugs who, in broad daylight and apparently within the vicinity of security personnel, obstructed access and created an atmosphere of intimidation.
Ejiofor said that the fact that Peter Obi eventually left the scene unharmed should not diminish the gravity of what occurred.
“The issue is not merely whether a particular politician was physically attacked. The larger and far more dangerous question is: what message does such an incident send to other political actors, and ultimately to the Nigerian electorate?” he said.
He argued that President Tinubu must call overzealous governors to order before political tension consumes the nation.
“I am not ordinarily accustomed to dabbling in partisan political activities, particularly as they relate to the affairs of political parties. However, when a dangerous aberration is allowed to persist unchecked, it risks becoming a convention; and when a convention is repeatedly tolerated, it may ultimately acquire the unfortunate character of a political culture. My intervention, therefore, is not partisan, but firmly anchored on public interest and the imperative of preserving democracy.
“It is no longer news that campaign activities for the 2027 general elections have formally commenced following the lifting of the statutory restriction by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the ritual endorsement of a symbolic Peace Accord by presidential aspirants. The implication is straightforward: presidential candidates and other political contestants are entitled, within the confines of the law, to traverse the length and breadth of the country, present their manifestos, articulate their programmes and policies, and persuade Nigerians to entrust them with their mandate,” he added.
According to Ejiofor, the message is chilling: that certain political actors may have come to believe that the legitimate exercise of political rights can be restricted by the force of hired mobs.
He described this as an invitation to political anarchy.
According to him, if a presidential candidate can be obstructed by political thugs from entering a state during the lawful discharge of his political activities, what happens when the campaign becomes more intense? What happens when political rhetoric hardens, tempers rise and rival camps become more desperate? Democracy cannot survive where political disagreements are settled by the roadblock, the cudgel or the gun.
He said Governor Hyacinth Alia and every other political office holder must understand that occupying public office is not a licence to convert a state into a political fiefdom.
According to him, the authority of a governor is constitutional; the authority of a political thug is neither constitutional nor democratic.
He said that what happened in Benue State was therefore totally condemnable and must not be rationalised, trivialised or repeated.
The statement reads in part:
“I am equally concerned that such conduct, if allowed to continue, could dangerously inflame an already fragile political atmosphere ahead of the full escalation of the 2027 electioneering campaign. Nigeria has endured enough political violence and needless bloodshed to know that seemingly isolated acts of intimidation can quickly become triggers for wider confrontation. Political actors must not wait until the embers become a conflagration before remembering the responsibilities imposed upon them by their offices.
“Unfortunately, some of these overzealous actors may genuinely be labouring under the mistaken impression that they are helping President Bola Ahmed Tinubu or strengthening the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Nothing could be farther from the truth. They are not helping the President; they are demarketing him.
“Every act of political thuggery committed in the name of the ruling party inevitably becomes part of the public assessment of the government it claims to support. A government that wishes to be judged as democratic cannot afford to have its political image represented by mobs, intimidation and the suppression of lawful political engagement.
“I therefore respectfully urge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to call such overzealous political actors, particularly those in positions of constitutional authority, to order. The appropriate battlefield for political contests is the marketplace of ideas, not the streets; the manifesto, not the machete; the ballot box, not the political thug.
“With campaign activities now officially underway, there is an urgent need for civility, restraint, tolerance and strict adherence to democratic norms. Governors and other political leaders should campaign on their records, policies, programmes and achievements. Where the records are impressive, let the people judge them. Where they are deficient, let the electorate equally have the freedom to say so.
“The road to 2027 must be paved with ideas, tolerance and democratic competition, not thuggery, obstruction and violence.”
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