Organisers of a rally in support of the Labour Party’s Presidential Candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, were on Saturday tear-gassed by the police in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, in South-East Nigeria.
BASIC FACTS
- The police in Ebonyi has tear-gassed Labour Party supporters in Ebonyi State.
- The rally in Abakalike the Ebonyi State capital was to canvas support for Peter Obi ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
- The attack on the supporters of Peter Obi left some persons injured and some arrested.
WHAT WE KNOW
Peter Obi’s supporters were this Saturday attacked in Ebonyi State by the police who tear-gassed them as they organised a rally in support of the Labour Party Presidential candidate.
Members of Labour Party and their supporters had gathered along Mile 50 to embark on a rally to canvass support for their candidate but were stopped from going into the streets by policemen from the Ebonyi State police command.
Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Ebonyi State Police Command, SP Chris Anyanwu, could not be immediately reached for comments.
In a related development, supporters of Obi and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, staged a solidarity rally in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, on Saturday.
Ebonyi, a state controlled by ruling All Progressives Congress, is administered by Governor Dave Umahi.
NOTABLE QUOTES
A Labour Party supporter who spoke to the media, said, “some persons were injured when the security agency came calling.”
CATCH UP
Recall that the supporters of Peter Obi have organised many rallies and marched across various cities to sensitise the public about the presidential ambition of the former Anambra State governor.
Peter Obi has become the darling of the electorates, even as a poll recently showed him the winner of the February presidential election.
Recall that the APC Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi had last week said though “Peter Obi movement” is one built on equity, justice, and fairness, “it may not translate to outright win”.
TAKEAWAY
Perhaps this is how Umahi seeks to stop Peter Obi’s popularity from translating to victory at the polls.
The Nigerian police must stop been used as a tool in the hands of politicians to disrupt freedom of choice, especially political choice in election periods.
As we keep improving our electoral laws, it high time we thought of laws that will make security persons accountable for their roles in the electoral process in particular and political process generally.
Freedom of expression is the people’s right and ought not to be interfered with once such freedom does not run contrary to any known law.
