By Joyce Ekeh
The Obidient Movement has demanded the immediate release of its Akwa Ibom State Coordinator, Dr Ben Smith, and the State Coordinator of the Obi-Kwankwaso, OK, Movement, Elijah Noah, following their reported arrests amid the controversy over a planned Independence Day march in Uyo.
The movement also accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Akwa Ibom State Police Command of provoking opposition supporters, warning that continued arrests and what it described as harassment could lead to wider protests.
The development followed a directive by the Akwa Ibom Police Command ordering political parties, groups and associations to reschedule rallies, meetings and processions earlier approved for October 1 across the state.
The command said the decision was based on security intelligence indicating that some individuals could exploit political gatherings to cause disturbances and threaten public peace. It advised organisers to reschedule their activities.
The planned event was a “Two Million-Man March” organised by supporters of Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The Obidient Movement, in a statement signed by its Media and Communications Directorate, Onyeka Dike, alleged that Noah was arrested during the attempt to stop the march, while Smith was subsequently taken into custody at Ikot Akpan Abia after accompanying supporters to seek Noah’s release. The reported arrests have also been reported by other media outlets.
The movement demanded the immediate and unconditional release of both coordinators and other members reportedly in custody, describing the arrests as an attempt to restrict peaceful political expression.
It said the dispute had moved beyond the cancelled march to broader concerns about the right of citizens to assemble and participate in political activities ahead of the 2027 elections.
The movement said Smith had earlier questioned the cancellation of the march, claiming that organisers had spent more than N20 million on mobilisation, branding and logistics across the state’s 31 local government areas. The reported expenditure is the organisers’ claim.
In its statement, the movement said: “It is deeply disturbing that in a democratic society, citizens exercising their constitutional right to peaceful assembly should be met with police intimidation, harassment and arrest.”
It further accused the APC and the police command of using state institutions to suppress opposition voices and demanded an end to what it described as intimidation and harassment of its members.
The group warned that if the authorities failed to release the detained members and continued what it called intimidation, it would mobilise supporters for wider protests across the country.
“If the authorities continue to ignore our demands and use the police to intimidate peaceful citizens, we will have no choice but to mobilise our members and supporters for wider protests around the country,” it said.
However, the police have maintained that the directive was not targeted at any particular political organisation.
The Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State, Baba Mohammed Azare, said organisers had attended a meeting with the command and were advised to reschedule the march because of security concerns. The command said the directive applied generally to political activities scheduled for October 1 and was issued in the interest of public safety.
The police position contrasts with the Obidient Movement’s account of the arrests and the circumstances surrounding the cancellation of the march.
The controversy has consequently shifted from the rescheduled Uyo procession to wider questions over the regulation of political gatherings, police powers and the exercise of citizens’ rights to peaceful assembly ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Obidient Movement urged the authorities to resolve the matter immediately, release those in custody and prevent the disagreement from escalating.
The group said, “Democracy cannot survive where peaceful protesters are treated as criminals,” while calling on the police and authorities to end what it described as the “needless provocation.”
