TDI commend the leadership of the opposition ADC for coming together to speak with one voice against the attempt to rob political parties of their fundamental right to determine how they conduct their primaries.
The amendment to the Electoral Act, widely perceived as being driven by the leadership of the National Assembly under Senator Godswill Akpabio, represents a dangerous intrusion into the internal democratic processes of political parties.
The clear intention appears to be to weaken opposition platforms by sponsoring candidates into rival parties and manufacturing crises in the name of primary elections.
This development has raised troubling questions. One cannot help but wonder whether there is any connection between the insistence on direct primaries in the amended Electoral Act and recent political manoeuvres across the country.
The decision of Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to remain outside the APC after months of negotiations with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, as well as the sudden political tensions between Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, suggest a pattern that may not be accidental.
These developments may well be part of a broader strategy designed to divide and distract the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
However, grave as the Electoral Act amendment is, the attempted assassination of Peter Obi is an even more dangerous development for Nigeria’s democracy.
Electoral manipulation can be challenged in courts and reversed through political struggle. But political violence aimed at eliminating opponents strikes at the very foundation of democratic life.
Rather than hurried press conferences about amendments to the Electoral Act, the opposition should have reacted spontaneously and forcefully to the attempt on the life of Peter Obi. The silence and slow response to such a grave incident are deeply troubling.
This attempted assassination occurred only weeks after Peter Obi was publicly threatened by the Governor of Edo State. The sequence of events cannot be ignored.
The attack bears troubling signs that point toward official complicity or, at the very least, gross negligence by security agencies operating within Edo State.
I watched the television interview of Olumide Akpata, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association and Labour Party governorship candidate in Edo State, who stated that they received warnings of possible attacks hours before the incident.
Acting on that intelligence, they hurriedly concluded their programme and moved to the residence of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, former Governor of Edo State.
Despite these warnings, the attackers reportedly proceeded to the ADC secretariat where they unleashed violence. They then moved to Chief Oyegun’s residence and operated freely for hours.
Throughout these attacks, none of the security agencies in Edo State appeared either to have acted on the intelligence or intervened effectively.
This is unacceptable!
The opposition leadership should have been shocked into urgent action. If this situation is not addressed immediately, it will only worsen.
Other actors in the APC power structure may adopt similar tactics, and political violence may become normalized as an instrument of competition.
Nigeria has seen warning signs before. During the 2023 presidential campaign, Nyesom Wike issued similar threats in Rivers State against the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. The consequence was that the PDP effectively avoided campaigning in Rivers State during the presidential election.
We must learn from history.
Either this issue is confronted now, or we should admit that opposition politics in Nigeria has become too dangerous for ordinary citizens.
If political actors cannot campaign safely, perhaps we should all simply step aside and allow the APC to return unopposed in order to save innocent Nigerian lives.
But that would be a tragic surrender.
The events in Edo State must not go unaddressed if the opposition is serious about challenging the APC in 2027. The Edo State show of shame represents a dangerous escalation in political violence.
There must be accountability.
The heads of the security agencies in Edo State — including the DSS and the Police — must be investigated, interrogated, and where evidence warrants, prosecuted for possible complicity or dereliction of duty in the attempted murder of Peter Obi and other opposition leaders.
Anything short of a full and transparent investigation will only encourage further attacks.
If this matter is not comprehensively addressed, then the hope of removing the APC government in 2027 may prove to be nothing more than a pipe dream — a dangerous illusion that could cost innocent Nigerians their lives.
The time to act is now.
Nigeria’s democracy cannot survive if political assassination becomes a tool of governance.
Obunike Ohaegbu, National Coordinator of South East Patriots; A village boy writing from his village in Anambra State.
