Edo State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Paul Ohonbamu, has come under scrutiny following his claim that a stampede occurred during the recent visit of Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, to the state — allegedly resulting in three deaths.
Ohonbamu made the assertion during an interview on Channels Television on Monday, July 21, but failed to provide concrete evidence or specify where the purported incident took place.
“Yes, intelligence reports brought it out. Two died in the hospital. They were rushed there,” Ohonbamu claimed during the interview.
Despite repeating the allegation, the commissioner did not name the specific location in Benin City where the incident allegedly happened. When asked if it occurred at the School of Nursing, where Obi made a stop during his visit, Ohonbamu gave a vague response:
“Apart from going to that school, he went to other places. He cannot just go to that school and go like that.”
Pressed further on the exact time and place of the incident, he simply said:
“On July 7. In Benin, they took some of them to the hospital. I did not follow Peter Obi to where he went, but I know that is where it happened.”
He admitted he was supposed to brief the press on the matter but was advised against it to “avoid panicking the public.”
“Let me tell you, many of these things, we do not alarm the public with. Anywhere Obi enters, there is this euphoria. People do not know him deeply. They just see him and say, ‘This is Obi, the messiah,’ and they rush after him. That euphoria, the ecstasy, can cause stampedes—but it did not reflect in votes,” he added.
So far, no hospital reports, police statements, or independent eyewitness accounts have corroborated the commissioner’s claim. Obi, who was in Edo State on a series of courtesy and advocacy visits, has not commented on the allegation.
