I know many political pundits and apologists would, as always, accuse me of bias in this report, even though my opinion is based on factual incidents and the direction of the political situation in Edo State. I have taken time to think this through before pencilling down my thoughts on the resurgence of political violence in Edo State.
The bullets that tore through the convoy of former presidential candidate Peter Obi on February 24, 2026, did more than shatter windshields and damage property at former Governor John Odigie-Oyegun’s residence.
They pierced the surface of civility that supposedly governs political discourse in Edo State, exposing a dangerous reality: words have consequences, and Governor Monday Okpebholo’s incendiary rhetoric has created a climate where violence against opposition figures has become not just possible, but predictable.
Though nobody was reported dead in the attack that targeted Peter Obi, Odigie-Oyegun, former NBA President Olumide Akpata, and others who had gathered to welcome Akpata to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), witnesses narrated how gunmen opened fire on politicians and members of the Obedient Movement as they attempted to flee to safety.
The vehicles were left riddled with bullets. The ADC secretariat was ransacked. Well, this was not the first violence under the watch of Governor Monday Okpebholo, nor was it the first time his action suggested sympathy with the perpetrators rather than the victims.
The MOWAA Inauguration: When Diplomats Ran for Their Lives
Three months before the attack on opposition politicians, on November 9, 2025, another group of dignitaries found themselves fleeing for safety in Benin City.
This time, the victims were foreign ambassadors, artists, and investors gathered for a preview exhibition at the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), a landmark cultural institution designed to house repatriated Benin Bronzes.
What should have been a triumphant moment for Nigerian culture, the ‘Nigeria Imaginary: Homecoming’ exhibition, featuring contemporary art previously shown at the Venice Biennale, descended into chaos when approximately 40 protesters stormed the facility. The mob, singing allegiance to the Oba of Benin, robbed and beat merchandise sellers, threw tables and chairs, and shouted abuse at guests.
The scene was terrifying. Ambassadors from the European Union and Germany were trapped. Most guests were ushered into a secure room, but Nicholas Cullinan, director of the British Museum, on what was meant to be an eventful first trip to West Africa, was stranded outside and threatened by a man wielding a drill. Fear-stricken foreign dignitaries had to be evacuated under tight security as viral footage captured the chaos.
The police, conspicuously passive throughout, eventually escorted guests through a back door to their hotel. One guest described the events as “clearly orchestrated, shameful and hugely disappointing”.
The Governor’s Response: “I Had No Idea”
The timing of the attack was telling. Just two days earlier, on November 7, 2025, the Oba of Benin had visited his ally Governor Okpebholo with a clear request: “Please stop the opening of the MOWAA,” calling it “fraught with greed, deceit, mischief and lack of transparency”. At that meeting, to rapturous applause, the governor told the Oba, “The issue of MOWAA is over”.
When the attack happened, Governor Okpebholo’s response was revealing. Meeting with the traumatised ambassadors at the Government House on November 10, he claimed he had no idea about their presence in the state.
This assertion-that the governor was unaware of a major international cultural event featuring multiple foreign ambassadors in his own capital – strained credulity.
But more damning was what happened next. Rather than condemn the attackers or assure the diplomatic community of their safety, the governor’s subsequent actions signalled alignment with the mob’s position.
Nigerian media reported that the governor had revoked MOWAA’s land title, intending to return the site to its prior use as a hospital. Though he later told Germany’s ambassador this was a “social media scam” and nothing had been revoked, the message had been sent: those who violently disrupted the event had the governor’s sympathy, if not his explicit support.
Days before the protest, Governor Okpebholo had received peaceful demonstrators at the Government House, praising their “civility and discipline” and reaffirming his commitment to “protecting the cultural heritage and authority of the Benin Kingdom”.
He assured them that “nothing belonging to the people of Edo will be taken away from them”. To the protesters who had violently disrupted an international cultural event, the governor offered praise and validation. To the diplomatic victims, he offered ignorance.
Let’s jump to the path to the February 24 political violence, which was paved months earlier with the same rhetoric. In July 2025, Governor Okpebholo issued what his defenders now characterise as a routine “security advisory” but what opposition leaders heard as an unmistakable threat: a warning that Obi should not visit Edo State without clearance, and that if anything happened to him, “he will take it”.
The ADC has been unequivocal in connecting these dots. In a blistering statement following the February attack, party spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi declared that the violence “bears the unmistakable marks of a dangerous and escalating pattern of political intimidation and terror” directly traceable to the governor’s “inflammatory rhetoric and threats”.
“We are particularly alarmed by the pattern of inflammatory rhetoric and threats that preceded these events, including the outrageous claim by the State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, who had earlier issued a threat that he would not guarantee the safety of Mr Peter Obi should he visit Edo State,” Abdullahi stated.
The governor’s rhetoric did not stop there. According to the ADC, Okpebholo has made “further ridiculous and irresponsible claims that the ADC is sponsoring cultism in Edo State, and threatened to start demolishing properties of the opposition in the State”.
Just one day before the February 24 attack, the governor had publicly accused the ADC of sponsoring cultism during a ceremony commissioning construction equipment.
The February 24 attack did not occur in a vacuum. Just one day prior, on February 23, a faction of the ADC led by former Chief Whip of the Senate, Roland Owie, was reportedly shut out of a meeting at Odigie-Oyegun’s residence due to internal party crises-an incident that required police intervention to restore peace.
While the Okpebholo administration has seized upon this to argue that the subsequent violence was merely “ADC versus ADC” and a spillover of intra-party disputes, such explanations strain credulity.
Would internal party disagreements explain gunmen trailing political figures from the party secretariat to a private residence? Would factional infighting produce coordinated gunfire targeting vehicles and property? The governor’s insistence that this was “an escalation of internal party conflict” appears increasingly untenable.
In his official response to the attack, Okpebholo offered a telling deflection: “As peace-loving citizens, we categorically condemn and will not tolerate the importation of thugs and miscreants from outside the state under the guise of political activity”.
The accusation that violence in Edo State comes from “outside” actors has become a familiar refrain-one that the governor also deployed in January 2026 when blaming a Russia-based Nigerian for sponsoring anti-kidnapping protests in Ekpoma.
Meanwhile, the governor’s allies have mounted a vigorous defence. Federal lawmaker Billy Osawaru, representing Orhionmwon/Uhunmwode Federal Constituency, has dismissed allegations against Okpebholo as “malicious and false” and “baseless and politically motivated”. Osawaru insists that the governor’s previous warning to Obi was merely “a genuine concern for his safety and well-being, given the unrest that followed Obi’s previous visit” to the state.
“Governor Okpebholo’s administration is not, and will never be, in the business of attacking innocent Nigerians, regardless of their political affiliation,” Osawaru stated.
But such assurances ring hollow against the evidence of what transpired. The Edo State Government has characterised the allegations as an attempt to “mislead the public and create unnecessary political tension”. Yet it is the tension created by the governor’s own words and his validation of violent actors that opponents say has made violence inevitable.
In a statement following the February attack, the government claimed the ADC’s account was “a clear misrepresentation of facts,” insisting that “no directive was at any time issued by the governor or any organ of the Edo State Government to target members of any political party”.
The statement characterised the governor’s earlier warning to Obi as “guided strictly by his constitutional responsibility as Chief Security Officer”.
The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has described the February incident as “one of the most serious manifestations of political intolerance in recent times,” warning that growing violence against opposition parties poses a significant threat to Nigeria’s democratic stability.
IPAC has called on President Bola Tinubu to rise above partisan interests and publicly condemn the attack while directing security agencies to ensure that those responsible are swiftly prosecuted.
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) condemned the attack, warning that “violence, intimidation, and the weaponisation of thuggery have no place in a democratic society and represent a direct assault on citizens’ constitutional rights”.
An editorial in The Punch newspaper drew chilling parallels to Nigeria’s violent political history, noting that “the ‘Operation Wetie’ violence of the First Republic helped set the stage for military intervention” and that “the 2011 post-election violence following Muhammadu Buhari’s defeat left over 800 people dead.”
The newspaper warned: “If this is the temperature in the rehearsal, what inferno awaits in the main contest?” as the nation approaches the 2027 general elections.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has condemned the “reported assassination attempt” as “deeply disturbing,” warning that Nigeria must not allow political rivalry to descend into violence, intimidation, or reckless hostility.
The ADC has announced it is compiling “all cases of acts of terrorism by the ruling APC against our party” and will make its reports available to diplomatic missions and the ECOWAS Court of Human Rights.
The party has issued a stark warning: “If any harm comes to our leaders, members, or supporters as a result of this escalating climate of official hostility, intimidation, or incitement, the responsibility for whatever consequences follow will rest squarely with those who chose the path of provocation over the path of peace.”
Following the MOWAA incident, President Tinubu announced the formation of a committee, chaired by the culture minister and including French and German diplomats, to provide recommendations on the museum’s future.
Tinubu may feel Nigeria’s international reputation is at stake. But as Apollo magazine noted, “You can’t work anywhere in Nigeria without local leadership on your side, and international money won’t protect you from that”.
Governor Okpebholo may yet avoid legal accountability for his role in creating this climate of violence. Immunity may shield a sitting governor from immediate prosecution, though not after his tenure expires. But political accountability is another matter entirely.
The governor has expressed sympathy for the victims of the February attack and characterised it as an attempt to “discredit Edo State and undermine its reputation as one of Nigeria’s most peaceful regions”.
Yet, if Edo State’s reputation now lies in ruins, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the governor’s own words and actions helped place the explosives first by validating those who attacked foreign dignitaries in November, and then by threatening those who would dare oppose him.
In democracies around the world, from the United States to Germany to the United Kingdom to Australia, political campaigns are vigorous but largely peaceful, governed by clear rules and strong institutions.
Nigerians deserve the same. They deserve leaders who calm tensions rather than inflame them, who protect opponents rather than threaten them, who condemn violence regardless of the identity of the perpetrators or the perceived righteousness of their cause.
As the 2028 elections approach, the question looming over Edo State is whether Governor Okpebholo will rise to the occasion and ensure law and order, or whether his legacy will be written in the blood of those who dared to oppose him. The November 9 attack on foreign dignitaries and the February 24 attack on opposition figures suggest we already know the direction.
