Presidential election: Tension over alleged move to arrest Peter Obi, Datti Ahmed

Tension has continued to build up across the country, particularly among the supporters of presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi over purported plans by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to get him arrested.

The alleged move was sequel to the activities of the former Anambra Governor, his running mate, Datti Ahmed and their supporters after losing the February 25 presidential poll.

Recall that Peter Obi, his party and supporters, popularly known as Obidients, rejected the outcome of the just concluded presidential poll that produced Bola Tinubu of APC as president-elect.

According to reports that Obi, who through his campaigns late 2022, galvanised many young and first-time voters, came third in the presidential poll, behind the winner, Bola Tinubu of the ruling party and main opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar.

Obi and Atiku who vowed to seek redress in court to overturn Tinubu’s victory after alleging that the electoral umpire was compromised to manipulate the results of the elections, had in several outings, called for the cancellation of the results.

Obi on March 2, while addressing a world press conference in Abuja, alleged that the election was programmed to deliver a predetermined outcome.

Obi also said the election did not meet the necessary requirements and could not be adjudged credible, insisting that there is evidence signalling his victory.

According to Obi, the election that brought Tinubu was not excellent, stating that the former Lagos governor does not deserve the excellency title.

Similarly, Obi’s running mate, Datti on Wednesday insisted that Tinubu cannot be sworn in as president of the country.

Datti declared during an interview with Arise Television that swearing in Tinubu would be “as good as swearing in a military regime”.

According to the vice presidential candidate, there was a constitutional breach during the presidential poll that produced Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as president-elect.
Tension over purported moves to arrest Obi and Datti started building up when a Nollywood veteran actor, Kanayo O Kanayo raised the alarm, alleging that there were plots to arrest Obi.

In an Instagram post, the veteran actor said: “Peter Gregory Obi will soon be arrested. Watch Out. The conspiracy is brewing, you want to bet?”

In what looks like a corroboration to Kanoyo’s revelation, a spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, on Thursday petitioned the Department of State Services, DSS demanding the arrest of Obi and his running mate.

Keyamo, current Minister of State for Labour and Employment, asked DSS to arrest and prosecute Obi and his running mate, Datti Ahmed over alleged “incitement and treasonable felony”.

In the petition addressed to the Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, dated March 23, the minister stated that in a post-election period such as this, there is a need to soothe frayed nerves, lower the temperature and begin the healing process.

The Minister, however, noted that since the declaration of the Presidential election results, Obi and his running mate have been hopping from one media house to the other allegedly making incendiary comments and claims regarding the declaration of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The matter, the chief spokesperson of the Obi/Datti campaign council, Salisu Tanko tackled Keyamo, stating that the minister was only making baseless accusations.

He questioned why Keyamo and his cohort failed to call for the arrest of former Lagos State National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, chairman Musiliu Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo who allegedly incited religious violence during the Gubernatorial elections in the state.

He said, “Keyamo, the so-called patriotic citizen, didn’t report MC Oluomo who told Igbos not to vote in Lagos.

“After the shameful Chatham House appearance, his principal was recorded telling key supporters to fight, snatch, grab and run with ballot boxes which was exactly what happened in the elections. Why didn’t Keyamo the ‘Patriotic citizen’ report to the DSS.

“Keyamo is just making baseless accusations, he’s a known Rabble rouser and chatterbox who doesn’t want to lose political relevance before his paymaster who has now seen him for what he is, which is a political paper weight, who has achieved nothing as a minister except posting fake news to rile up the polity on social media.”

An activist and staunch supporter of Peter Obi, Okoh Marcus said any attempt to arrest Obi will set the entire nation ablaze.

He said, “Nigerians are already fed up with all these unending issues from these old politicians who want to impose themselves on us.

“Any attempt to arrest Obi will not go well with Nigeria. Let somebody try to touch that man, that is when the anger in us will come out. They should stop that rubbish.

“If not for the case in court that has calmed Obidients, by now ‘EndSARS promax’ would have started”.

When contacted, the DSS spokesperson, Peter Afunnanya declined to comment on the matter.