The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has condemned an attack on his campaign convoy by suspected thugs in Calabar, Cross River State, assuring supporters that political violence would not be allowed to undermine the 2027 general election.

Obi spoke at a town hall meeting in Calabar on Wednesday, hours after his convoy reportedly came under attack, with suspected assailants smashing the windscreens and side mirrors of some campaign buses.

A viral 30-second video of the incident showed some of the attackers, mostly dressed in black shirts, fez caps and face coverings, using machetes to damage vehicles in the convoy.

The attack reportedly caused panic as passersby and roadside traders fled the scene.

One of Obi’s media aides, Esther Umoh, had raised the alarm in a post on her official X account.

“Thugs are trying to attack our convoy,” she wrote.

Shortly afterwards, Umoh shared another five-second video showing a victim with a gunshot injury to the leg being evacuated from the scene. She attributed the injury to a stray bullet.

Speaking at the town hall meeting, Obi recounted how he witnessed the attack and said his security team advised him to take another route after the assailants allegedly armed themselves with machetes and other weapons.

He said, “They were throwing stones, and I saw people running back. And my security people said we should find another way because they have machetes and other things.

“I asked, ‘In Nigeria? I am coming down to go and meet them.’ By the time they saw what was happening, they left. All these things happened because Nigerians allow it. We are not going to allow it in 2027.”

The former Anambra State governor arrived in Calabar alongside his wife, Margaret, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, for the town hall meeting.

Efforts to reach the spokesperson for the NDC Presidential Campaign Council, Constance Ikokwu, and Obi’s spokesman, Idris Zekeri, for further comments were unsuccessful.

The incident is the latest reported security challenge involving Obi’s campaign, coming about two months after his convoy encountered a blockade and confrontation with youths in Benue State.

During the Benue visit, Obi’s convoy was blocked by youths along the Makurdi-Gboko Federal Highway as he travelled to the state for political engagements ahead of the 2027 presidential election and to commiserate with victims of the June 2025 attacks in Yelewata.

Trouble reportedly started a few metres from the airport when the convoy encountered a roadblock mounted by the youths, who prevented motorists from using the two-lane highway.

The blockade caused traffic congestion, while the police were criticised for failing to disperse the youths promptly.

The Benue State Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiogbu, subsequently disclosed that no fewer than 46 suspects had been arrested in connection with the incident.

Nwadiogbu said investigations were ongoing and that security operatives were trailing key leaders of the youths.

He warned that the police would not tolerate political intolerance as the country approached the 2027 general election.