A visit by Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi to families affected by the 2025 Yelwata massacre was disrupted on Tuesday after youths blocked his convoy along Gboko Road in Makurdi, according to police and multiple Nigerian news
organisations.
The incident triggered competing accusations between Obi’s camp and the Benue State Government, while the police opened an investigation but said the motive of the youths was not yet known.
The confrontation occurred near the Nigerian Air Force Base and Gyado Villa area as Obi travelled towards Yelwata. Reports said the convoy was forced to turn back.
Video footage described by Premium Times showed men carrying objects that appeared to include sticks, clubs and stones, while police officers positioned themselves between the convoy and the group.
The footage and published accounts establish that access was obstructed, but they do not independently establish who organised the youths or whether the state government directed them.
What Obi said
Obi said he arrived in Benue at about 9am for what he described as a humanitarian visit rather than a campaign event.
In a statement, he said the group chanted, “Peter Obi, go back,” and prevented his convoy from reaching the grieving families.
He described the obstruction as alarming and argued that Nigerians should be able to mourn victims and travel without political intimidation.
Obi also alleged that the youths were “hired” or sponsored by people connected to the state government.
In remarks reported by PUNCH, he said he had been told that youths led by a government aide had decided to block the road. That claim had not been
independently verified in the reports reviewed.
The NDC’s Benue governorship candidate, Terhemba Shija, disputed the suggestion that the visit was uncoordinated.
He said the police and the Department of State Services had been informed and that security personnel accompanied Obi’s team. Shija called the obstruction a politically motivated attempt to prevent a legitimate visit.
Benue Government’s response
The state government rejected any involvement. Governor Hyacinth Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, said the administration was unaware of Obi’s arrival and denied that it patronised or deployed thugs.
He argued that a high-profile political visit should be communicated to the host state’s security authorities so that appropriate protection could be arranged.
In a statement supplied in connection with the incident, the governor’s office described Obi’s allegations as unfounded and suggested they could reflect internal political disagreements rather than state action.
It said the government relied on recognised security agencies, not informal groups, to maintain public order.
Those denials were not accompanied by a publicly announced alternative explanation for why the youths blocked
the convoy.
The disagreement partly reflects an earlier dispute. In April 2025, Alia objected to an unannounced visit Obi planned to make to internally displaced people in Benue.
The governor cited security and protocol concerns and said visitors to IDP camps should obtain approval through the relevant state emergency-management authorities.
Alia said that humanitarian visits were welcome but needed coordination. Meanwhile, Premium Times described Tuesday’s incident as second reported disruption of an Obi visit to the state.
Police confirm obstruction and begin probe
The Benue State Police Command confirmed that it knew about Obi’s movement to Yelwata and that officers provided security for the convoy.
Its spokesperson, DSP Peter Aondongu, said the reason the youths blocked the convoy remained unknown and that the
command was investigating the circumstances.
The police confirmation is significant because it supports the basic fact of a confrontation while leaving the central political allegation unresolved.
As of the latest reports reviewed, police had not identified the youths, announced arrests or attributed responsibility to the Benue Government.
No independently verified report reviewed for this article established that the state government sponsored the obstruction.
The African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, condemned what he called an apparent sponsored blockade and attack.
He said no candidate should be prevented from campaigning or moving through violence and intimidation. His reaction added to the political pressure for an investigation, but it did not provide independent evidence of sponsorship.
Why Yelwata remains politically and socially sensitive
Obi’s proposed destination, Yelwata in Guma Local Government Area, was the scene of one of the deadliest attacks in Benue’s recent conflict.
The assault took place in June 2025 and affected a farming community already exposed to repeated violence, displacement and disputes involving land, farming and pastoralism.
The death toll remains contested in public debate. Obi referred to more than 270 people being killed.
Independent accounts reviewed for this report give lower but still grave figures: Amnesty International reported that more than 100 people were killed and that 3,941 residents fled after the June attack; NPR reported at least 160 deaths; and Reuters reported that prosecutors later described about 150 victims in terrorism charges filed against nine men.
The differing totals may reflect different counting periods, sources and definitions of the affected area. They should therefore be attributed rather than collapsed into a single definitive figure.
What is not in dispute is the scale of the loss, the destruction of homes and
livelihoods, and the continuing trauma among survivors.
NPR’s reporting from Yelwata described burned homes, scattered human remains and survivors who had lost multiple family members. It also documented competing explanations for the violence.
Farming communities described a campaign to drive them from fertile land, while pastoralist representatives said herders had also suffered killings and insecurity.
Nigeria’s foreign ministry rejected attempts to characterise the wider crisis
solely as religious persecution, saying such a framing was misleading.
Amnesty International reported that more than 500,000 people were internally displaced across Benue by mid-2025.
It said many displaced people faced inadequate shelter, water, sanitation, healthcare and education, and called for humanitarian assistance, compensation and accountability.
Reuters reported in February 2026 that prosecutors had filed 57 terrorism- related charges against nine men accused of planning and carrying
out the Yelwata attack.
The charges represent a move toward legal accountability, although they are allegations until determined by a court.
The issues now before investigators
The police investigation will need to clarify several questions. These include who organised the youths, whether any political or government officials directed them, whether the convoy’s movement was formally notified to all relevant authorities, whether anyone committed assault or property damage during the confrontation.
The investigation will also test two competing accounts of public responsibility. Obi’s position is that the obstruction illustrates the dangers of political intolerance and the failure to protect a visitor who came to console victims.
The state government’s position is
that it was not informed and had no role in the incident. The police account currently supports neither side’s claim of sponsorship.
The episode also shows how security concerns and political protocol can be used to explain restrictions on high- profile visits in a state affected by mass displacement.
Coordination with security agencies can reduce risks, but it should not become a pretext for partisan exclusion.
Conversely, a humanitarian visit occurring during an active campaign period can carry political implications even when its stated purpose is condolence. Both considerations are relevant to assessing Tuesday’s events.
The immediate test for the authorities is whether the investigation is conducted
transparently and whether those responsible for obstructing or attacking the convoy are identified regardless of political affiliation.
For Benue residents, however, the larger concern extends beyond a dispute between politicians: it is whether the state can protect people from armed violence, provide dignified support to displaced families and allow political and humanitarian activity without intimidation.
