Peter Obi has condemned Nigeria’s rising lawlessness after his brother’s property was demolished in Lagos.
He warned that impunity and disregard for rights will scare investors away from Nigeria.
Peter Obi, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, has expressed deep frustration over what he described as Nigeria’s increasing descent into lawlessness. His anger follows the reported demolition of a property owned by his younger brother’s company in Ikeja, Lagos.
In a strongly worded statement released Tuesday on his official Facebook page, Obi criticized the growing disrespect for legal processes and citizens’ rights across the country. He warned that these trends, if left unchecked, could discourage both local and foreign investors from doing business in Nigeria.
“Any society where lawlessness overrides the rule of law is not destined to be a haven for investors,” Obi said. “Recent reports showing that Nigeria’s human rights indicators have worsened merely highlight severe shortfalls in government protection for civil liberties, personal security, and basic living standards.”
Obi explained that he was contacted early Tuesday morning by his brother, who informed him that their company’s property in Lagos was under demolition. The brother had just returned from a trip to Port Harcourt and was surprised to find that security guards stationed at the premises denied him entry, claiming the demolition began during the weekend.
“I rushed to Lagos from Abuja after the call this morning and headed straight to the property,” Obi said. “On arrival, I was met by security people who tried to bar me from entering. I pleaded with them, explaining the property belonged to my brother’s company and had been in his possession for over a decade.”
Obi said when he asked to see any court order or legal backing for the demolition, the security personnel referred vaguely to a judgment. According to him, the supposed court ruling was against an “unknown person” and some squatters, without any identifiable defendant.
“How do you sue an unknown person? How does a court issue a judgment in such a farce of a case?” he asked. “No one was served. No name was written. Yet they showed up with excavators and began destroying a structure that had stood for over 15 years.”
He said he remained at the site for several hours trying to reach out to whoever authorized the demolition but got no answers. “I stood there from 10am to 2pm, waiting for someone to call. Nobody did. The contractor even said he didn’t know who sent him. It was a coordinated display of impunity,” Obi added.
Obi also shared a recent conversation with a businessman who operates across West Africa. The investor had told him he avoids Nigeria due to lack of rule of law. “He told me plainly: ‘Nigeria is a lawless country. Until we have laws that protect people, nobody will invest in Nigeria.’”
The former governor of Anambra State lamented the state of the nation and the continued erosion of citizens’ rights. “What kind of country are we trying to build when the rights of citizens, their lives, their properties, and their voices are trampled upon daily?” he asked.
Despite his anger, Obi restated his commitment to building a better Nigeria. “I remain committed to a better Nigeria where lawlessness will be a thing of the past, protection of life and property, respect for human rights, care for the less privileged, and basic education for all children,” he concluded.
