The NDC presidential candidate will pay tribute to victims of the 2025 attacks and meet their families, the party’s governorship candidate says.
Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi is expected to visit Yelwata, Benue State, on Wednesday to pay tribute to victims of the attacks on June 13 and 14, 2025.
Terhemba Shija, the NDC’s governorship candidate in Benue, announced the visit on Tuesday in Makurdi. He said Obi would lay a wreath at a cenotaph erected in the victims’ honour along Lafia Road and meet with their families.
Obi is also scheduled to hold a town hall meeting with residents and community stakeholders at the Multi-purpose Hall of the Mission House, behind the Benue Links head office in Wurukum, Makurdi.
Shija said Obi would not visit any government facility or internally displaced persons camp during the trip. He invited traditional rulers, civil society groups, labour unions, students, women, young people and other residents to attend the meeting.
Shija said an earlier attempt by Obi to visit Yelwata had allegedly been disrupted by suspected political thugs. He appealed to the Benue State Government to allow the visit to proceed without interference and urged security agencies, including the police and the State Security Service, to provide protection.
“We call on all law enforcement agents to protect Mr Peter Obi and his supporters as they carry out their legitimate activities in Makurdi and Yelwata,” he said.
Shija said the NDC would not resort to violence or take the law into its own hands despite what he described as attempts at intimidation. He said the party remained committed to pursuing its political activities peacefully.
