By Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Abuja

The Federal High Court in Abuja has okayed hearing a suit seeking to compel President Bola Tinubu to provide maximum security to the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Party (NDP), Mr Peter Obi, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1648/2026, is, among other reliefs, praying the court to declare that Obi has the fundamental right to life and the right to live without fear, discrimination, threat of assassination, intimidation, or any form of harassment whatsoever, as guaranteed in Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

The suit also seeks a declaration that he “must not be subjected to politically motivated coercion, threat to life, bullying, harassment, assault, intimidation and victimisation whatsoever by any arm of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or any authority, person, individual or group, agents/agencies of the Federal Government or government of any sub-regional state, on the grounds of his political ideology, ethnicity and religion; or for any reason whatsoever.”

The suit referenced alleged threats to Obi by Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State.

The court was urged to declare that “the threats by the Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, that Mr Peter Obi’s life and security are not guaranteed in Edo State and that Mr Peter Obi should not step into Edo State without getting clearance from him are empty, not backed by law, anti-democratic, illegal, unlawful and tantamount to executive rascality, infantile politicking and power drunkenness”.

The legal action was brought before the court by two lawyers, Mr Okere Kingdom Nnamdi and Mr Joseph Enemona Amen, as well as a non-governmental organisation, the Incorporated Trustees of Rights For All, which was listed as the 3rd applicant.

Aside from President Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the State Security Service, and the Commandant-General of the Security and Civil Defence Corps, as well as Governor Okpebholo of Edo State, were sued as the 1st to 6th defendants in the case.

Meanwhile, no date has been set for the matter to be heard.

Mr Olatunji Ifabiyi, the spokesperson for the Ondo State House of Assembly, says the Assembly will not hold plenary until the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, resigns.

Ifabiyi, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Akure, reiterated that the majority of the lawmakers were in support of the Speaker’s removal.

The Assembly has been in crisis following a call for the Speaker’s resignation for the alleged unilateral reordering of the Ondo State Oil Producing Development Commission (OSOPADEC) 2025 budget of N9.2 billion.

NAN reports that 21 of the 26 members of the Assembly had signed a resolution to impeach the Speaker if he failed to resign.

“We have resolved not to hold plenary until there is a change of speaker.

“For now, there is no development except that Mr Speaker should just give way and allow another person to preside over the Ondo State House of Assembly.

“If he doesn’t resign, we will impeach him. If he fails to do the needful, we will do the needful,” he said.

The spokesperson, who did not disclose when the Assembly would convene for plenary, stated that he was not aware of any meeting on Sunday with the state executive in resolving the crisis.

Ifabiyi also said that the allegation of assassination on a member of the Assembly had been reported to the appropriate authorities for investigation.

Speaking to NAN, a principal officer of the Assembly, who spoke on anonymity, said that the state executive had intervened in the crisis.

“There was a peace broker yesterday (Sunday) with the executive, and we are not permitted to disclose details of the outcome of the meeting.

“I don’t want to be the first to breach the agreement. But I can tell you that the matter has been resolved, but I will not tell you if it was in anyone’s favour.

“We too implore internal mechanisms on the agitations in the House of the Assembly, and we are going to hold plenary soon,” he stated. (NAN)

Enugu State Secretary of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Dr Sebastine Okafor has blamed the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, for the endless crisis in the state chapter of the party. 

DAILY POST reports that the Enugu NDC has not known peace since May 4, 2026 after its state congress was conducted. 

Although Dr Johnpaul Ani and others emerged as members of the State Working Committee, there have been alleged attempts by some NWC members to derecognize them. 

The crisis worsened during the primary election, with the exercise ending in confusion, especially within another faction of the party. 

A few days ago, about 80 members of the party, who participated in the primary election under the rival faction, blamed the crisis on certain leaders, including Chief Dr Mathias Omeh.

The aspirants, led by Sir SKC Ogbonnia, mentioned Omeh as one of those contributing to the crisis within the party.

However, the Party Secretary, in a statement he issued on Monday, urged the aggrieved aspirants not to blame Omeh. 

Instead, he said members of the NWC should be held responsible. 

He described the inclusion of Omeh’s name in the publication as unfair, misleading, and an attempt to shift responsibility from those directly connected with the issues confronting the party.

According to him, the matters being complained about were decisions and actions taken by members of the National Working Committee of the party, and not Omeh, who according to him had consistently advocated dialogue, reconciliation, and unity among party stakeholders.

He stated that Omeh remained one of the respected leaders of the NDC whose contributions to political development and capacity building had earned him the admiration of many party faithful across Enugu State.

Okafor noted that while every party member had the constitutional right to seek redress over perceived injustices, such complaints should be pursued through established internal dispute resolution mechanisms or the courts, rather than through media attacks capable of damaging the reputation of innocent party leaders.

He urged members to avoid dragging respected leaders into disputes in which they played no role and instead channel their energies toward strengthening the party ahead of future political engagements.

“Politics should be guided by facts, responsibility, and respect for due process. We must not allow emotions or disappointment to push us into making allegations that cannot be substantiated,” Okafor further stated.

He maintained that the leadership of the Enugu State chapter led by Anih remained committed to peace, internal democracy, and reconciliation among members.

The party scribe called on all aspirants, candidates and stakeholders to refrain from cyber bullying, personal attacks, and publications capable of creating unnecessary divisions within the party.

“The NDC belongs to all of us. Differences are inevitable in every political organisation, but they must be managed with maturity, discipline, and respect for constituted authority. 

“Our focus should be on building a stronger party rather than engaging in campaigns of character assassination,” he stated.

He also reiterated his total support for the state leadership of the party, led by Dr Johnpaul Anih, and said they were ready to take their legal battle over the party’s leadership in Enugu State to the apex court to seek justice and stop imposition.