The Department of State Services (DSS) has apprehended a man suspected of being behind the recent attempt to assassinate Mr. Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in Benin, the Edo State capital. The arrest comes after an incident on February 24 where Obi, alongside former Edo State Governor Chief John Oyegun and other chieftains of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), narrowly escaped a gun attack during a party meeting in Benin.
Shortly after the attack, a man identified as Udeme Monday Stephen posted on his X account, @stevetom788, claiming responsibility for the assault and threatening further attacks on Obi. Stephen boldly stated online that Obi was fortunate to have escaped in Benin, vowing that “the former presidential candidate wouldn’t be that lucky next time.”
His post read: “We warned Obi against his entrance into Edo State, but he mistook our resolve for his Obidiots online noise. Thank his stars he (Obi) survived this one… I learnt he’s going to my Rivers State… Na my men go handle that one and dem no dey miss target… Speak no peace to a bastard and wish him no long life, for he’s destined to die.”
According to a top security source, DSS operatives launched a covert investigation immediately after Stephen issued the threat. The agency utilized forensic analysis to track and arrest the suspect. The source revealed that the arrested individual is 26-year-old Udeme Monday Stephen, who works as a teacher at Jessica High School in Eliozu, Rivers State, specifically in the Umuehere Community, Obio-Akpor LGA of the state.
“I strongly believe that the outcome of the agency’s forensic investigations implicated the suspect,” the source stressed. The security official further added, “You know that, as a responsible security organisation saddled with the task of counter-espionage, VIP protection, among other asset protection duties, the DSS is always alive to its responsibility of investigating credible intelligence, irrespective of tribe or religion.”
The source declared that the DSS “swiftly deployed operatives and the man who threatened Peter Obi was nabbed and is in custody,” confirming that Stephen would soon be charged to court.
