By Our Correspondent <\/p>\n
As condemnation continue to trail the shootings and disruption that occured at the All Democratic Congress (ADC) event in Edo and at the residence of its former Governor, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, a chieftain of the party, Chief Ikechukwu Cornelius Anonye has said the action is a threat to democracy.<\/p>\n
He also tasked the Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to swing into action and probe the allegation and also make his findings public.<\/p>\n
Anonye, in a statement on Saturday, while condemning the action also described it as a harassment against the person of Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election and a chieftain of the ADC.<\/p>\n
Chief Anonye bemoaned persistent reports of harassment, intimidation, and the recent attack on the convoy of Mr. Peter Obi, on Monday 21st February 2026 in Edo state.<\/p>\n
He submitted that if verified, such actions constitute not merely political misconduct but potential violations of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
\n“Under Section 33(1) of the Constitution, every person has the right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of that right except in execution of a court sentence. <\/p>\n
“Any act that endangers the life of a citizen \u2014 directly or indirectly \u2014 is a grave constitutional matter.<\/p>\n
“Further, Section 34(1) guarantees the dignity of the human person and prohibits degrading treatment. <\/p>\n
“Political intimidation and threats, when systematic, may amount to unconstitutional treatment.
\nMost importantly, Section 40 guarantees every citizen the right to assemble freely and associate with others for political purposes, while Section 39(1) protects freedom of expression. <\/p>\n
Anonye stated that Mr. Peter Obi, like every Nigerian, retains the constitutional right to move freely, speak freely, and participate in lawful political activities without harassment.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution clearly states:
\n\u201cThe security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.<\/p>\n
“This provision imposes a constitutional duty on every Governor and public office holder to protect \u2014 not endanger \u2014 citizens within their jurisdiction, irrespective of political affiliation.
\nI therefore call on the Governor of Edo State to ensure that no act, statement, or omission from his office contributes to an atmosphere of hostility or insecurity toward any political actor.<\/p>\n
The rule of law demands neutrality of state power. Political competition must never be weaponized through intimidation or violence.
\nI also call upon the Inspector-General of Police and relevant security agencies to:
\nConduct an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into the alleged shooting incident.<\/p>\n
“Make their findings public.
\nEnsure accountability in accordance with the law.
\nLet it be clearly stated: any harm that befalls Mr. Peter Obi under any suspicious circumstances suggesting negligence, complicity, or failure of constitutional duty will raise serious legal and moral questions under Nigerian law.
\nThis is not merely a political issue; it is a constitutional matter touching on the fundamental rights of citizens and the integrity of Nigeria\u2019s democracy.
\nNigeria is governed by law, not by intimidation.
\nDemocracy must be safeguarded through constitutional fidelity”, he submitted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Our Correspondent As condemnation continue to trail the shootings and disruption that occured at the All Democratic Congress (ADC) event in Edo and at the residence of its former Governor, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, a chieftain of the party, Chief Ikechukwu Cornelius Anonye has said the action is a threat to democracy. He also tasked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6182,323,3372,5958],"class_list":["post-11413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-bemoaned","tag-harassment","tag-persistent","tag-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11413"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11415,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11413\/revisions\/11415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}