United Kingdom-based supporter of former Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, Albert Obazee, has lamented a fire outbreak that gutted his house in Amagba, Benin City, alleging it was arson by agents of the state government.
According to Obazee, the fire happened during New Year’s crossover night on Wednesday.
Speaking during a Facebook live stream on Thursday, Obazee described the alleged attackers as “children of hate and anger who cannot build but only destroy.”
He added that he would not be intimidated and would continue to speak on issues as they arose, despite suggestions that he should take a lower profile.
In a phone call received during the live stream, a caller who stayed in the house said the CCTV cameras could not capture the faces of the arsonists because they attacked from a blind spot.
The caller explained that they acted quickly to extinguish the fire, preventing total destruction of the building.
Obazee said, “I am sure the thugs who came are loyal to the state government. They are not comfortable with the truth I say online, but this attack will not make me stop.
“They just want to destroy. They are children of hate, children of anger, who can build but destroy.
“Just a simple discussion, they resort to burning houses. You people will only render those living in the house homeless. Can you burn the land?
“So if I come to Nigeria now, you think I will stay in that house in Amagba. I am happy that those who know my other properties do not belong to your group.”
A government official who preferred to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, however, dismissed the allegations, stating that the state government had more pressing matters than burning an individual’s property.
The official called on the police to investigate and apprehend those responsible.
He said, “It is absurd to think that the state government will burn the house of an individual. What purpose would that serve? We call on the police to carry out a thorough investigation into the matter to fish out the culprit(s).”
Efforts to reach the state Police Public Relations Officer, Eno Ikoedem, were unsuccessful.
Obazee, a loyalist of Obaseki, has been at odds with both the state government and the Oba of Benin Palace since Obaseki’s tenure ended.
He was attacked at an event last year, and a palace chief delivered a letter to him at his residence in the UK, an act that enraged Obazee.
A police officer had to intervene to calm the situation after Obazee accused the chief of acting on behalf of the palace and the state government.
Albert Obazee is a supporter of the PDP and former governor Godwin Obaseki. He has been a long time critic of the Monday Okpebholo Administration.
There was a cold war between Former Governor Godwin Obaseki and the Oba of Benin over the return of Bini artefacts. The former governor wanted to build a state-owned museum for the artefacts, while the Oba wanted to build a royal museum.
Therefore, Albert Obazee is also a critic of the Oba.
Many Bini people have warned Albert Obaze to stop attacking the Oba, in fact, he was slapped at an event in Manchester a few weeks ago.
The supporters claim that Albert Obaze raped a teenager in Nigeria and fled to the UK (because his wife was a student in the UK) and they say that he's attacking the governor and Oba so that he can claim that he is being persecuted in Nigeria and therefore he needs asylum in the UK.
Hoodlums Working For Edo Governor Okpebholo's Loyalist, Kabaka Burn Home Of UK-based Critic On New Year’s Eve
January 1, 2026
Some hoodlums, allegedly linked to Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo's loyalist, Tony Kabaka, have been accused of burning down the home of Albert Obazee, a UK-based media critic originally from Edo State, on the eve of the New Year.
Eyewitnesses say the assault occurred late Wednesday in Obazee’s neighbourhood, where a group of young men wielding bottles filled with what appeared to be petrol and kerosene forced entry into the property.
They reportedly smashed windows, wrecked furniture and household items, and ultimately poured accelerants before setting the building ablaze.
An occupant, who spoke anonymously with SaharaReporters, described how the mob destroyed the window, broke in, trashed possessions and then drenched the building before lighting it on fire.
A disturbing video obtained by SaharaReporters showed almost the entire house engulfed in flames, with a plastic bag containing petrol bottles visible among the wreckage - stark evidence of premeditation.
The footage also captured rooms, the kitchen, and living spaces extensively damaged by the blaze, leaving the once-secure residence uninhabitable.
Obazee, a vocal critic of the Okpebholo administration known for his commentary on Edo politics and governance, had his house targeted just days after the governor, in an earlier interview, was seen making threats perceived by many as directed at him.
As of now, no official statement has been released by the Edo State government or the Nigeria Police Force regarding arrests or charges related to the arson.
SaharaReporters previously reported that governor Okpebholo has publicly threatened Obazee, vowing to send him to prison and warning that he would not be allowed to freely step on Nigerian soil.
In a video interview obtained by SaharaReporters, the governor was heard issuing the threat while admitting that he closely monitors Obazee’s social media activities, including posts critical of his administration.
“Obazee will definitely go to prison. I said he will not touch the soil of Nigeria,” Okpebholo said.
“I wake up every night, I stay awake from 3am, watching all the social media, even Obazee, watching him abuse me. I learnt something from him. There is nothing I don’t see.”
The governor’s comments have created a tense and violent atmosphere, amid allegations that thugs loyal to him, led by Edo APC Youth Leader Tony Kabaka, vandalised Obazee’s residence in Amagba, Benin City.
In another video sighted by SaharaReporters, the scene at the residence of Obazee showed extensive destruction, with both the exterior and interior of the building reportedly damaged.
An eyewitness who occupies one of the flats in the compound confirmed the incident off-camera, citing fear of intimidation. “I saw up to about 30 boys walking towards the gate with all sorts of weapons,” the eyewitness said.
The incident reportedly followed Obazee’s social media post alleging that Tony Kabaka had been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the alleged mutilation of NERRA nodes. Kabaka later confirmed that he had indeed been invited and interrogated by the EFCC, a development Obazee said validated his report.
About 24 hours after the post, Obazee raised the alarm again, alleging that his house —worth millions of naira — had been destroyed by thugs led by Kabaka.
Speaking on the incident, Obazee said the attack has left him and those connected to him living in fear.
“The occupant of my house saw him. He came to destroy my house,” Obazee said. “Tony Kabaka has terrified me, my family, and the occupants of my house.
“Right now, everyone affiliated with me is scared. I want the relevant authorities and the Edo State government to look into this matter.”
Albert Obazee is a supporter of the PDP and former governor Godwin Obaseki. He has been a long time critic of the Monday Okpebholo Administration.
There was a cold war between Former Governor Godwin Obaseki and the Oba of Benin over the return of Bini artefacts. The former governor wanted to build a state-owned museum for the artefacts, while the Oba wanted to build a royal museum.
Therefore, Albert Obazee is also a critic of the Oba.
Many Bini people have warned Albert Obaze to stop attacking the Oba, in fact, he was slapped at an event in Manchester a few weeks ago.
The supporters claim that Albert Obaze raped a teenager in Nigeria and fled to the UK (because his wife was a student in the UK) and they say that he's attacking the governor and Oba so that he can claim that he is being persecuted in Nigeria and therefore he needs asylum in the UK.
Chief Joseph Ogiehor went to Albert Obaze's house in Leeds to deliver a letter to him. The letter says that he should stop attacking the governor and Oba. The chief had already been to the police station to deliver a similar letter.
This incredible shouting match took place when Chief Joseph Ogiehor took the letter to Albert Obaze's house (the police had to intervene).
Your “analysis” is political maneuvering disguised as enlightened thinking.
when you spend 80% of your thread explaining why Atiku is organizationally strong and institutionally vital, then casually mention Obi lacks patience to build structure, you’re not being neutral. This entire thread is an elaborate sales pitch for Obi to accept VP slot under Atiku, wrapped in the language of strategic necessity.
The math is dishonest. Yes, Atiku + Obi votes exceeded Tinubu’s in 2023. But here’s what he conveniently omits: Obi got 6.1 million votes in his FIRST presidential run with a broken party structure and zero institutional support. Atiku got 6.98 million in his SIXTH presidential attempt with decades of political machinery. Yet somehow Atiku is “organizationally strong” while Obi “lacks patience”? The disrespect is stunning.
You are saying the two election-tested blocs are Atiku and Obi” but then spends paragraphs explaining why Atiku’s experience, institutional knowledge, and Northern base make him indispensable, while Obi just has… what? An “motivated base” that apparently isn’t structure?
This is the game: acknowledge Obi’s popularity, then systematically explain why it’s not enough, why he needs the “adult in the room.”
Let’s talk about this CPC bloc. You elevate Amaechi and the so-called “CPC/Buhari bloc” as if they bring real electoral value. Brother, where is this bloc?
Amaechi couldn’t deliver Rivers. El-Rufai is toxic in Kaduna. These are political refugees with no homes, not kingmakers with armies. Yet they’re being positioned as equal partners to Obi’s organic movement? This is how elite politicians inflate their importance, by treating failed political careers as institutional knowledge.
Your defective analysis is your claim that “picking Atiku at the expense of Obi is as weak as picking Obi at the expense of Atiku.” This is false equivalence. Obi brings organic youth energy, diaspora mobilization, and the anti-establishment wave that defined 2023. Atiku brings… what exactly? A Northern base that couldn’t deliver him 12 states against a fractured APC? Institutional strength that lost him the PDP ticket to underdogs before? The man has been running since 1993 and has never won.
BTW how does Obi’s southern wave now falls redundant with Tinubu in Aso Rock? This is wrong. The southern wave wasn’t about regional identity, it was about competence, credibility, and breaking the old order. Tinubu being in Aso Rock while destroying the economy only STRENGTHENS that wave. People didn’t vote for Obi because “South’s turn”, they voted because they were tired of recycled politicians. Which is exactly what Atiku represents.
The real irresistible truth Demola won’t say: is that the ADC coalition needs Obi far more than Obi needs the ADC coalition. Without Obi’s base, ADC is just another graveyard of political has-beens. Atiku’s bloc couldn’t win him PDP primaries. The CPC bloc has no electoral value. But Obi’s movement can fill stadiums, raise funds, and mobilize voters in ways no Nigerian politician has done in decades.
Demola is Atiku’s aide, and this is him softening the ground for Obi to accept second position by making it sound strategic rather than submissive.
Here’s my counter-prediction: any arrangement where Obi accepts VP under Atiku will collapse the Obidient movement overnight. Not because they’re emotional, but because they’re discerning enough to recognize when their candidate is being managed into irrelevance by the same political class he ran against.
If ADC wants unity, the ticket should reflect electoral reality: Obi-Atiku, not Atiku-Obi. Or better yet, open, transparent primaries where the best candidate emerges rather than backroom “power-sharing arrangements” that reek of the old.
Demola Olarewaju has been one of the biggest PDP media warriors of the past 20 years. He contested for the post of publicity secretary of the Lagos branch of the PDP a few years ago and although he had massive support online, he did not win the election.
He criticised people that were assistants to APC government officials and he declared that he could never be an assistant to anybody. However, sometime around 2023 he became the new media assistant to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
'DemolaOlarewaju @DemolaRewaju
Peter Obi’s move to ADC is a historical pivot, repeatedly predicted by some of us - seeing the sun at midday is however not a sign of great eyesight, it is rather the ability to see the sun at midnight that proves our imagined reality as enlightened.
It is with that enlightened imagination that I here predict what may play out in ADC, firstly to prevent Obidients from getting too emotionally invested in their imagined reality, secondly to help Atikulates remain accommodating of certain excesses but thirdly, in the hope that a unique set of far-thinking young people will figure how to plug in and make things happen.
Disadvantage is that APC folks may read this and guess the future but the irresistible human natural tendency to exaggerate darkness at 3am and assume the sun will never rise again is always there, and any politically savvy APC person already knows know this is actually the right play.
These are “my thoughts” - not representative of anyone or anything affiliated to me.
The basis for the formation of ADC is directly from 2023: Atiku and Obi polled more votes combined than Tinubu, simple.
Albeit there are three power blocs in the ADC formation: the Atiku bloc formerly sabotaged within the PDP, the CPC/Buhari bloc sidelined and hounded out of APC and the Obi bloc infiltrated out of LP. The two election-tested blocs are the Atiku and Obi blocs, representing a combined voting force of roughly 12 million, but the CPC bloc is also a major steal from the APC and an addition to an imminent voter outsurge from the North. The best candidacy will harness both Atiku and Obi while utilising the Northern electoral base of the CPC bloc along with their institutional power/knowledge.
But politicians must hedge their bets: what if Obi is swayed by the argument of “turn of the South”, even though Tinubu is not a Northerner? What if the CPC bloc decides to press forward with Amaechi as Atiku’s running mate? This is why the bets are being hedged:
An Obi will insist he’s running for President so that he won’t be edged out by the CPC bloc, the CPC bloc will keep Amaechi in play so that they can step in if Obi doesn’t align, Atiku will stay open to running with anyone in case Obi is held too hostage by his base. Politicians will politick and it’s good to confuse APC at this point, even up till the venue of the primaries.
Atiku stepping down and endorsing Obi or vice versa will not work: Obi lost his PU to Soludo/APGA despite endorsing a different candidate for Governor. If Atiku steps down today and endorses Obi, he may lose his PU in Adamawa for the first time ever in history; we need both men together on the ballot in a clear power-sharing arrangement that will produce a strong President and a strong VP - AA is no stranger to this kind of ‘strong VP’ arrangement from his time as VP from 99 to 2007.
H.E. Peter Obi has the most motivated political base in Nigeria currently, yet he is not a politician who has the skill of patience enough to build that movement into a structure. The 2023 southern wave that partly drove his campaign now falls redundant with a Tinubu in Aso Rock and that man is strongly uniting the Souths behind himself through the Governors.
H.E. Atiku Abubakar is organisationally and institutionally strong - not only is he able to rally his own troops across many states, he can also pull enough renegades from the APC still - won 12 states in the last election, 7 of them were APC states. With the CPC bloc behind him, his candidacy is even stronger.
Picking an Atiku at the expense of Obi is as weak a ticket as picking an Obi at the expense of an Atiku. Even if one endorses the other, only the presence of both on a joint ticket stands a clear chance.
The call now therefore even as we welcome Obi to an alliance he has been part of from the beginning, is for Obidients and Atikulates to sheathe swords and make this happen.
It is after all, our future and it is not safe at all under Tinubu.
Politics › Re: Youths Set Albert Obaze's House In Edo State On Fire by naptu2(op): 2:18am On Jan 02
