The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested a 26-year-old man over alleged involvement in the recent attack on former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Obi had narrowly escaped death on February 24 when gunmen opened fire at a political meeting in Benin, Edo State. The former presidential candidate was attending the gathering alongside ex-National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Oyegun, and other leaders and members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Following the incident, a social media user identified as Udeme Monday Stephen took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to claim responsibility for the attack. In a series of posts, he alleged that Obi had been warned against visiting Edo State and threatened further violence should the former Anambra State governor travel to Rivers State.
In the posts, Stephen boasted that Obi was fortunate to have survived the Benin attack and issued fresh threats, claiming that “his men” would not miss their target next time.
A counter-insurgency and security analyst focused on the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, disclosed the suspect’s arrest in a post shared on his official X handle on Monday.
According to Makama, a senior security source revealed that the DSS immediately commenced a covert investigation after the online threats surfaced. Operatives reportedly deployed forensic tools to trace the origin of the posts, which led to the suspect’s identification and arrest.
The source further stated that Stephen is a teacher at Jessica High School in Eliozu, Umuehere Community, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
“I strongly believe that the outcome of the agency’s forensic investigations implicated the suspect,” the source was quoted as saying.
The source added that as a security organisation responsible for counter-espionage, VIP protection and other asset protection duties, the DSS acts on credible intelligence regardless of ethnic or religious considerations.
“They swiftly deployed operatives, and the man who threatened Peter Obi was nabbed and is in custody,” the source said.
The DSS has yet to issue an official public statement detailing the charges against the suspect.
