Peter Obi, a former Anambra governor, and other members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), on Tuesday escaped an attack by hoodlums in Benin, the Edo State capital.

Spokesperson for the former governor, Yunusa Tanko, raised the alarm that Mr Obi and other ADC chieftains who attended the formal declaration of Olumide Akpata into the party in Benin City were attacked by hoodlums.

“PO and the leadership of the ADC are under siege and attack in Benin, Edo State,” Mr Tanko said in a statement, describing the incident as an assassination attempt on Mr Obi and other ADC chieftains’ lives. 

“At the formal declaration of Olumide Akpata into the African Democratic Congress, armed individuals followed us from the ADC secretariat to the residence of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun,” Mr Tanko said.

He added, “They shot at the gate and destroyed several vehicles in what appears to be a survived assassination attempt on our lives. Democracy is in danger.”

Eno Ikoedem, Edo State police spokesperson, did not respond to requests for comments on the incident involving Mr Obi and his party members when contacted on Tuesday evening. 

Opposition leader and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the attack on Mr Obi and other ADC members.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Abubakar said, “The violent attack on Peter Obi, Chief John Oyegun, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, Olumide Akpata, and other Coalition ADC leaders in Benin, Edo State, is utterly condemnable and unacceptable in any democracy.

“In recent times, we have witnessed reckless and inflammatory rhetoric from elements within the ruling party in Edo State, rhetoric that dangerously legitimises violence against political opponents. Words, when weaponised, often precede actions. What happened in Benin did not occur in a vacuum.

“Nigeria is entering a perilous phase in which opposition voices are not only harassed through state institutions but are now being physically targeted. The ruling APC appears to have escalated its intolerance from bureaucratic suppression to open aggression.”