The Benue State Government has denied prior knowledge of the reported visit of the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, to the state, following reports that his convoy was blocked by youths.

The government said neither Governor Hyacinth Alia nor the state’s security apparatus was informed ahead of Obi’s movement to Yelewata, a community in Guma Local Government Area where more than 200 people were killed in a deadly attack in June 2025.

The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Kula Tersoo, disclosed this to journalists on Tuesday.

Tersoo said the absence of prior notification raised questions about how adequate security could have been provided for a presidential candidate visiting a sensitive area.

According to him, relevant security agencies, including the police, Department of State Services and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, ought to have been informed ahead of such a visit.

“Peter Obi is a presidential candidate of a political party and a former two-term governor. He is not a small man in this country. He is supposed to be prepared for and given adequate security.

“If you are visiting a state, the security apparatus of the state is supposed to know. The Commissioner of Police, Director of DSS, Civil Defence and others are supposed to be aware so that they can provide adequate security for you,” he said.

The governor’s spokesman questioned how youths could have successfully blocked the movement of a presidential candidate if adequate security arrangements had been made.

He also rejected allegations that Governor Alia could have sponsored youths to frustrate Obi’s movement, insisting that the governor does not encourage political thuggery.

“Governor Alia does not promote thuggery in Benue State. If Obi is a threat to him, or maybe he felt that Obi’s coming would cause a problem for him, the right thing to do is to get legitimate security operatives to do the needful and not to gather youths or send them to go and block him,” Tersoo stated.

He further said the governor had not received any briefing from security agencies concerning Obi’s reported visit.

“But the governor is not aware. So you will even doubt if he came to this state at all,” he added.

Tersoo also referred to an earlier allegation by Obi that he was prevented from visiting Benue and that gunshots were fired when he eventually arrived.

He said the state government had previously requested security reports to establish what transpired during that incident, adding that similar questions would arise from Tuesday’s reported confrontation.

The governor’s aide maintained that a visit by a presidential candidate should ordinarily involve advance coordination between the relevant authorities and security agencies.

“If those people are aware, they are supposed to make adequate security for him such that the youths cannot even stop him. For the youths to have stopped him, it means there was no adequate security, that is, if at all he came. There is something wrong somewhere,” he said.