Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has defended his remarks on Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, amid mounting backlash from human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), the African Democratic Congress and the Obidient Movement.
The governor had stirred controversy after warning that Obi must obtain security clearance before visiting Edo State, a statement critics described as a direct threat to Obi’s life and a dangerous precedent for democracy.
While Falana urged Obi to take legal action over what he termed an “illegal threat,” ADC and Obidient Movement leader, Dr Yunusa Tanko, accused Okpebholo of intimidation and spreading falsehoods.
The Edo State government, however, insisted that the governor’s comments at a rally on Friday were misinterpreted, stressing that his call was a security protocol and not hostility toward the opposition leader.
The governor slammed the critics, adding that the statement should not be misconstrued as a threat.
In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, the government said that Okpebholo’s statement was given various misinterpretations.
“The attention of the Edo State Government has been drawn to various misinterpretations surrounding the recent remarks made by Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, regarding the visit of Peter Obi to the state.
“It is imperative to state clearly that the governor did not issue any form of threat to Mr Obi, but rather emphasised the need for high-profile individuals, particularly politically exposed persons, to notify and seek security clearance from the governor before embarking on any public engagements within the state.
“As the Chief Security Officer of Edo State, it is the governor’s constitutional responsibility to safeguard the lives and property of all residents and visitors alike.
“This duty includes ensuring that adequate security measures are put in place during high-profile visits or events that may attract large crowds or media attention.
“When such protocols are ignored, it creates serious security vulnerabilities, not only for the visitor but also for citizens who may be caught in avoidable threats,” the statement read.
Itua said the governor’s position was relevant in light of the rising attacks and abductions of religious leaders, especially Catholic priests and Christian clerics.
He noted that the state had witnessed its share of tragic incidents, including the abduction of seminarians and the killing of clergy in recent years.
He noted that public donations made to churches, hospitals, or other faith-based institutions, while noble in intent, must be approached with caution and in full consultation with the appropriate security channels to avoid exposing these institutions and their leaders to further danger.
He added, “The governor’s comments on the need for discretion in public giving are rooted in both security intelligence and moral responsibility…
“Governor Okpebholo is not Peter Obi, who, as Governor of Anambra State, detained Nasir El-Rufai when he visited.
“Furthermore, the governor’s concerns should not be twisted for political mileage by individuals seeking to score cheap points.
“The state government will not fold its arms and allow politically motivated activities to endanger lives.
“We expect leaders, no matter how highly placed, to align with the protocols and security realities of the areas they visit.”
Earlier on Sunday, Falana had asked Okpebholo to withdraw the threats to the life of Obi.
In a statement, the senior lawyer noted that the threat to the life of Obi issued by the “new sheriff in town” in Edo State constituted a violation of Section 33 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended and Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples (Ratification and Enforcement), which guarantee the fundamental right of every citizen to life.
“However, if Governor Okpebholo does not withdraw the illegal threat because of sheer arrogance of raw power, Mr Peter Obi should proceed to file an application in the Benin Judicial Division of the Federal High Court to secure the enforcement of his fundamental right to life.
“Mr Obi should act with utmost urgency in view of the prevalence of mob justice and other forms of extrajudicial killings in the country,” the statement added.
The ADC’s interim National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, speaking with journalists, warned that such threats were becoming a troubling trend among APC governors.
He stressed that the party was informing both Nigerians and the international community about the situation, against the right to move freely across all states by every Nigerian.
“The African Democratic Congress condemns the restriction order issued on Peter Obi.
“This is not the first time. It is becoming a pattern for APC governors to make the kind of pronouncements credited to Governor Okpebholo, declaring that Mr Obi or opposition leaders are not welcome in their state.
“This is not democratic, and it’s a very dangerous pattern. Nigeria is a free country, and every citizen of Nigeria has the right to go anywhere in this country.
“We don’t need a visa in our country. We don’t need anybody’s permission to go to any part of our country.
“This also speaks to an authoritarian instinct among some of these governors of the APC, and we believe that this can only get worse if it’s not nipped in the bud,” he added.
Abdullahi said, having failed to turn Nigeria into a one-party state, the strategy is to begin to intimidate and issue threats and warnings not to come to their states.
“This is unacceptable. We will go anywhere in Nigeria that we want because Nigeria is a free country,” he said.
Tanko, in his reaction, debunked claims by Okpebholo that Obi was responsible for the 2013 detention of former Kaduna Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
Tanko, who also served as the campaign spokesman for Obi during the 2023 presidential election, described the allegation as “a complete falsehood.”
Speaking in a phone interview with our correspondent, Tanko insisted that Okpebholo was either misinformed or deliberately peddling lies.
“It is obvious Governor Okpebholo festers on lies and doesn’t even know what he is talking about.
“Even Nasir can never come out to say that again after I debunked it. I have proof that there is no iota of truth in that allegation,” he said.
He explained that at the time of the incident, he was the national chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council and was physically present in Anambra State during the election where the controversy occurred.
“I was the then-national chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council during that election. Peter Obi was also then an APGA governor in Anambra, and the PDP was at the centre.
“At that time, El-Rufai was the assistant secretary of the ACN. He has the fundamental right to go into the state and support his agent. But they thought he came with blood money to mobilise people and induce voters, so they denied him.
“So it was the PDP, not Obi. Obi himself said it on the floor that he was seeking succour too for himself, not to block anybody,” he said.
Tanko said he still possessed photographic evidence to support his claims and reminded the public that El-Rufai himself had brought the complaint directly to him during the election.
“In fact, I can show you pictures of where I was seated as IPAC chairman when Nasir himself brought the complaint to me.
“I still have them, and I remember also hosting a press conference on this particular issue at the campaign venue of Peter Obi,” he said.
Tanko also dismissed Okpebholo’s political experience, calling him a “greenhorn.”
“It is obvious Okpebholo is just a greenhorn in this game of politics. The governor doesn’t know anything. He is just shooting blanks.”
