By Our Reporters
The carefully planned protest demanding the release of detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, has been thrown into disarray by an internal schism, a war of words between two camps that share the same goal.
With just hours until marchers converge on the Presidential Villa, a public broadside from activist Omoyele Sowore against former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has fractured the very coalition the event was meant to unite.
The fissure erupted into public view during Sowore’s appearance on the ‘Mic On’ programme with Seun Okinbaloye. Sowore, the architect of the October 20th #FreeNnamdiKanuNow march, revealed that despite a personal appeal, Peter Obi had declined to participate, offering only a tepid, “measured response” that Kanu “shouldn’t have been arrested.”
For Sowore, this was not a simple case of a scheduling conflict. He framed Obi’s absence as a calculated political move, driven by a fear of shared spotlight. “I think Peter Obi and his people feel like this is some kind of ‘steal the show,’ we don’t want to be part of it kind of thing,” Sowore asserted.
He challenged the premise of such a calculation, insisting that the gravity of the injustice should override political vanity. “Anybody who is sensible would understand that where there’s injustice, you don’t look at who is fighting for a just cause. You think about the cause itself.”
Sowore’s interview was a robust defense of his claimed motives. He positioned his activism as an extension of a lifetime of campaigning for democracy and justice, a pursuit he insists is untainted by political allegiances. He explicitly denied being a stalking horse for any political figure, including Atiku Abubakar, Goodluck Jonathan, or Obi himself.
“If you are looking for political gains, you don’t go and fight for people like Nnamdi Kanu,” he argued, pointing to the IPOB leader’s divisive status. “There are parts of the country who don’t want to hear that name… because he threatens their real estate.”
He painted a picture of a lonely crusade, detailing his behind-the-scenes efforts to rally South-East leaders. He claimed to have reached out to figures like Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, and Governor Alex Otti. In one anecdote, he recounted how Abia State lawmakers, after agreeing to coordinate a protest date, suddenly informed him they were departing for London.
Obidients See a Political Ambush
However, reacting to Sowore’s jab, Peter Obi’s supporters, known as the ‘Obidients,’ were swift and deeply suspicious. They described the protest as a political trap designed to ensnare their leader
Many voiced the belief that the true target was not the government, but Peter Obi’s political future. “The target was to spoil Obi’s relationship with the northern region. The sudden love for Nnamdi Kanu was about Obi, not Nnamdi Kanu. Obi was smart enough to avoid the trap,” wrote a user named Chukwuka Princewill.
This theory was expanded by others who saw it as a long term strategic move. Chris George commented, “I knew that his sudden solidarity for MNK and the Igbos was all about Peter Obi. He wants to replace Peter Obi by 2027 in the heart of the Igbos.” This perspective casts Sowore’s activism not as altruistic, but as a calculated bid to usurp Obi’s position as a leading figure in the opposition and a favourite in the South-East.
Other Obidients urged a focus on the protest itself, but their comments highlighted the very split Sowore had identified. “P O is not the only prominent Igbo politician, with or without him the protest can still hold,” wrote Benjamin Utoro, implicitly acknowledging the division while trying to move past it.
Yet, the dominant mood was one of caution and accusation, with user Kelvin Ogbonnaya succinctly capturing the wariness: “This protest might be a set up for Obi.”
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