Obidient Movement Announces How Much They Lost After Police Cancelled Akwa Ibom 2 Million-Man March
- The Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Obidient Movement condemned the last-minute police directive cancelling their planned two million-man march in Uyo
- The march, organised in support of NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi and his running mate Rabiu Kwankwaso, was scheduled to hold on October 1, 2026
- State Director Benjamin Smith accused the police commissioner of approving the march earlier before reversing the decision, putting the movement's losses at over N20m
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The Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Obidient Movement has condemned what it called an unconstitutional disruption of its planned two million-man solidarity march for NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, after police cancelled the event hours before it was set to hold in Uyo on October 1, 2026.
Akwa Ibom State Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Azare, issued a directive ordering all political parties, groups, and associations to reschedule activities earlier approved for Independence Day, citing credible intelligence suggesting that certain individuals planned to exploit the gatherings to cause civil unrest.
Source: Twitter
Police Public Relations Officer DSP Timfon John confirmed the directive in a statement made available to journalists in Uyo on Wednesday, September 30.
The statement read in part:
"Following credible intelligence available to the Command indicating plans by some individuals to exploit scheduled political activities to cause disturbances and threaten public peace, and in the overriding interest of public safety and security, all approvals earlier granted for political rallies, meetings, processions and other related public political activities scheduled to hold on Thursday, 1st October 2026, anywhere within Akwa Ibom State are hereby directed to be rescheduled."
Obidient movement cites N20m loss
Speaking at a press conference in Uyo on Thursday, September 29, State Director of the Obidient Movement, Benjamin Smith, said the directive amounted to an afterthought, arguing that the same commissioner had previously granted approval for the march to proceed. Smith said the movement had spent more than N20m mobilising supporters across all 31 local government areas of Akwa Ibom State before the cancellation was announced.
Smith said the movement had honoured a police invitation on September 29, attended by the state party chairman, the director of media for the march, and the head of event security.
He said CP Azare told them during that meeting that the Nigeria Police Force did not have enough personnel to secure two million people on the streets of Uyo, particularly because the PDP had already received approval to hold its own rally from October 1 to 3, raising fears of clashes between supporters of both parties.
Movement vows to resist future cancellations
Smith, who was flanked by Obidient Movement officials and NDC chieftains, insisted the group would not accept any further cancellation of the event. He urged supporters to remain law-abiding while promising that a new date would be announced in due course.
"We want Nigerians to know that the police have violated the Police Act. It is a violation of the Nigerian Constitution that gives the people the right of freedom of assembly. We also want everybody to know that without the Constitution of Nigeria and laws, we are just a banana republic," Smith said.
Obi, Kwankwaso visits Sultan
Previously, Legit.ng reported that Peter Obi, the 2027 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), visited the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III, at his palace in Sokoto state ahead of a series of town-hall engagements in the region.
Obi was accompanied by his running mate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and other members of their team.
Source: Legit.ng
