Police Tear-Gas Peter Obi Supporters At Ebonyi Rally
Organisers of a rally in support of the Labour Party’s Presidential Candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, were on Saturday tear-gassed by the police in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, in South-East Nigeria.
Members and their supporters had gathered along Mile 50 to embark on a rally to canvass support for their candidate but were stopped from going into the streets.
One of the supporters who spoke to Channels Television, Nwali Ikechukwu, said some persons were injured when the security agency came calling.
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Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Ebonyi State Police Command, SP Chris Anyanwu, could not be immediately reached for comments.
In a related development, supporters of Obi and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, staged a solidarity rally in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, on Saturday.
Ebonyi, a state controlled by ruling All Progressives Congress, is administered by Governor Dave Umahi.
Channels Television had last week reported that Umahi said though “Peter Obi movement” is one built on equity, justice, and fairness, “it may not translate to outright win”.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had said campaigns for next year’s polls would begin on September 28.
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The proposed rally for the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, was Saturday disrupted by men and officers of the Nigeria Police, including other security Agencies in the State.
The mammoth crowd, which gathered at the Pastoral Centre of the Catholic Church, Abakaliki, was dispersed as fierce-looking policemen shot teargasses into the air from different locations.
The crowd, which couldn’t withstand the harsh reality of the teargasses shot at them, retreated into the Church, where more teargasses were still being released into the Church.
This development is presently causing panic among the youths who are staunch supporters of the Obi movement for a better Nigeria.
The youths who are now scattered everywhere around G-hoatel, Mile 50 road, Kpirikpiri road, among others expressed their disgust for the present administration in the State for its role in ensuring that the rally for Peter Obi never held.
“Peter Obi is our President. This rally must hold. See the shooting teargasses directly at us. They are shooting directly into the Church.
“This is despicable. The present Government in Ebonyi is full of hypocrisy. Umahi said on TV that the rally can hold, we knew he was lying See us now. Obi remains our President come 2023.”
Not minding the teargasses shot at the youths, they are still seen with their banners shouting “Obi, Obi, Obi, Obi, Obi, Obi, Obi, Obi, Obi, Obi, Obi” within the premises of the Church.
As the rally is still struggling to start within the Abakaliki metropolis, more and more youths are still coming into Pastoral Centre, the venue of the takeoff point, in solidarity with the Presidential candidate of LP, Peter Obi.
