The Benue State Government has challenged the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to identify the government aide they alleged was responsible for blocking his convoy during his visit to Makurdi on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
The demand came from Governor Hyacinth Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, after the NDC accused an aide to the governor of leading youths who stopped Obi from travelling to Yelwata in Guma Local Government Area.
Kula said the state government was prepared to cooperate with the police investigation and urged Obi and the NDC to provide evidence linking any government official to the incident.
The Benue State Police Command has independently confirmed that youths blocked Obi’s convoy and said an investigation had begun to determine why the road was barricaded.
Obi travelled to Benue on Tuesday intending to visit Yelwata, a community that suffered a deadly attack in June 2025. According to reports, his convoy encountered a group of youths who barricaded the road along the Makurdi-Gboko route.
The former Anambra State governor subsequently abandoned the trip after the confrontation prevented him from reaching Yelwata.
The NDC described the incident as an obstruction of Obi’s humanitarian visit and alleged that an aide to Governor Alia was involved in mobilising the youths. The party said the visit was intended to allow Obi to sympathise with families affected by the killings and listen to residents.
Obi also alleged that the youths were acting under the direction of a government-linked official. However, the identity of the alleged aide has not been publicly established.
The Benue Government has rejected the allegation that it organised or sponsored the blockade.
Kula said the government was not aware of the incident when it occurred and only became aware after photographs and reports of the confrontation circulated.
He questioned the basis for linking Governor Alia or his officials to the roadblock without evidence and maintained that the administration had no reason to deploy youths against Obi.
The government has therefore asked the NDC to provide the name of the alleged aide and evidence supporting the accusation.
According to Kula, the authorities are willing to allow investigators to establish responsibility and take appropriate action against anyone found culpable.
The police account adds an important dimension to the dispute.
Benue Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiogbu, confirmed that officers had been deployed to provide security for Obi’s movement to Yelwata. He said the command was investigating why the youths decided to block the convoy.
Police therefore confirmed the obstruction but have not publicly attributed responsibility for it to Governor Alia, his aides or any political organisation.
This leaves several issues unresolved:
- Who organised the youths who blocked the road?
- Was any government official involved?
- Why was Obi prevented from reaching Yelwata?
- Were the youths acting independently or on instructions?
- Will the police identify and prosecute those responsible?
The confrontation has also triggered disagreement over whether Benue authorities were properly informed about Obi’s movement.
The state government maintained that it was not aware of the visit before the incident. Kula argued that adequate coordination with the host state and security agencies would ordinarily be expected during the movement of a major political figure.
The police, however, said they had been informed about Obi’s planned visit and had deployed personnel to accompany him. Nwadiogbu said the command understood that the visit was intended for a condolence and community engagement purpose rather than a campaign event.
That difference in accounts is likely to become part of the wider political controversy surrounding the incident.
The confrontation comes as political activity intensifies ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with Obi campaigning under the NDC banner.
For the opposition party, the incident raises questions about political tolerance and the ability of candidates to move freely across states. For the Benue Government, the central issue is whether an unsubstantiated allegation is being used to associate the administration with an incident it says it did not authorise.
The police investigation could therefore prove important in separating established facts from competing political claims.
For now, what is established is that Peter Obi’s convoy was blocked by youths in Makurdi and that the police have opened an investigation. The allegation that a Benue government aide directed the action remains unproven and has been rejected by the state government.
