2027: Atiku Condemns Violent Attack on Peter Obi and ADC Leaders, Warns of Rising Political Intolerance

Atiku Abubakar 

Former Vice President and 2023 PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has issued a scathing condemnation following the reported assassination attempt on Peter Obi and other top opposition leaders in Benin City, Edo State. In a strongly-worded statement released on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, Atiku described the shooting at the residence of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun as "utterly condemnable and unacceptable in any democracy," warning that the nation is entering a perilous phase of political aggression.

​Atiku linked the brazen attack—which targeted a high-powered gathering including Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, Olumide Akpata, and several leaders of the ADC—to what he described as a culture of inflammatory rhetoric. He noted that recent statements from elements within the ruling party in Edo State have dangerously served to "legitimize violence" against those with opposing views. "Words, when weaponized, often precede actions. What happened in Benin did not occur in a vacuum," Atiku stated, suggesting that the physical targeting of opposition figures is the next stage in an escalating campaign of intolerance.

​The former Vice President further directed his concerns toward the Presidency and the nation’s security architecture. He asserted that the ruling APC appears to have moved from "bureaucratic suppression" of the opposition to "open aggression." Atiku reminded President Bola Tinubu and the nation's security chiefs that they bear a non-partisan constitutional responsibility to guarantee the safety of all citizens, regardless of political affiliation. "The safety of opposition leaders and supporters is not a favor; it is a democratic obligation," he emphasized.

​Consequently, Atiku’s statement serves as a stern warning against the descent of Nigerian politics into a "theatre of violence." As the fallout from the Edo State attack continues to rattle the political landscape, he called for immediate action to ensure that politics is settled through debate and the ballot box, rather than through the barrel of a gun. The former Vice President’s intervention adds significant weight to the growing international and domestic outcry for a thorough investigation into the perpetrators and sponsors of the attack on the ADC coalition leaders.