‘I am currently at my home in Onitsha’ — Obi denies rumoured arrest in Abuja

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023, has denied the recent rumour that he has been arrested in Abuja, the nation’s capital. 

On Tuesday, some social media users claimed that Obi was purportedly arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services in Abuja.

In a statement published on his X handle on Wednesday, Obi condemned the “recurrently fake news” about his purported arrest by security operatives.

The former Anambra governor said he is currently at his residence in Onitsha, adding the motive of the fake news merchants cannot be positive.

“I have been made aware of a circulating fake news about my alleged arrest. Let me state unequivocally that these claims are entirely false,” Obi said.

“I am currently at my home in Onitsha. Anambra State. Such fake News on my person has become a pastime for some people.

“Recall last year September, when I was in Rwanda, similar lies had gone out that DSS invaded my house; now, while I was in my home in Onitsha, Anambra State, they said I was arrested in Abuja.”

“The motive of these peddlers cannot be positive but let us not allow baseless rumors to distract us from the critical challenges we face as a nation.”

The rumoured arrest of Obi appeared on social media 24 hours after the former governor said his life was under threat because of his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

He raised the alarm after Felix Morka, national spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said, “Peter Obi has crossed the line so many times and has it coming to him whatever he gets”.

In his New Year message, Obi criticised Tinubu and expressed concerns over “institutional corruption, mismanagement, poverty, hardship, and an escalating debt profile” in the country.

Reacting to Obi’s New Year message, Morka described Obi as an “irrational being” and slammed his public commentary.

The APC spokesperson labelled Obi’s claims as “ridiculous” and “deceptive,” while criticising him for “lacking legacy” in Anambra.