Akwa Ibom Police Arrest Obi-Kwankwaso Movement Coordinator, F!re Tear Gas At Supporters During March
Akwa Ibom Police Arrest Obi-Kwankwaso Movement Coordinator, Fire Tear Gas At Supporters During March
The incident occurred amid heightened political activities by supporters of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has reportedly arrested the state coordinator of the Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement, Elijah Noah, during a march in Uyo on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
Noah, whose social media handle is @elijahnoah8, was reportedly arrested by several armed police officers while supporters of the movement were gathered for an Independence Day march.
The incident occurred amid heightened political activities by supporters of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The OK Movement has described itself as a platform mobilising support for the Obi-Kwankwaso political project.
Elijah Noah was listed as its Akwa Ibom coordinator in a campaign structure announced by the movement in September.
A video obtained by SaharaReporters shows several armed police officers surrounding Noah and dragging him towards a police vehicle before forcing him inside.
The circumstances leading to his arrest were not immediately clear.
An X user, Esther Umoh, claimed that Noah’s alleged offence was simply going to inspect the proposed starting point of the march.
“His only crime was coming to check out the start-off point for the march,” Umoh said, while accusing the Akwa Ibom State Government of becoming undemocratic.
Meanwhile, videos and accounts circulating from Uyo indicated that tear gas was fired as supporters of Peter Obi gathered in the city.
The reported incident comes amid increased mobilisation by the OK Movement across Nigeria ahead of the 2027 elections.
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The movement recently announced a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council, with John Ughulu as Director-General and Saadatu Sani as National Secretary. Elijah Noah was identified as the movement’s coordinator in Akwa Ibom under its South-South structure.
However, the development also comes against the backdrop of a dispute between the OK Movement and the NDC.
The party, in a September 19 statement, disowned the campaign council announced by the movement, saying it had not authorised the group to constitute or announce a presidential campaign council on its behalf.
The NDC subsequently maintained that the party’s structures remained authoritative, while the Obidient and Kwankwasiyyah movements were support groups operating within the broader political framework.
