Police separate Obi, Kwankwaso supporters and APC crowd in Calabar

Police in Calabar, Cross River State, on Wednesday separated two crowds that met in front of a hotel along Murtala Mohammed Highway, near the U.J. Esuene Stadium, averting what officers said could have turned violent.

One group was made up of hundreds of supporters of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, waiting for a presidential town hall meeting organised by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). The other was a large crowd of All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters on a road walk towards the Governor's Office, including members of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).

According to the reports, the Obi and Kwankwaso supporters partly blocked the highway, apparently to stop the APC crowd from reaching the venue. Security operatives moved in, separated the two groups and diverted the APC supporters. The hotel then restricted access to its premises while officers kept order around the building.

What the police said

The Cross River police spokesperson, ASP Sunday Eitokpah, said the command acted to prevent a breakdown of law and order. He said officers engaged both groups when they converged in front of the hotel and appealed to them to exercise restraint and keep their activities peaceful and lawful.

A police officer who did not give his name said the intervention was needed to avoid bloodshed. "What we have done is very necessary; otherwise, it would have been a bloody scene," he said.

Officials of both camps had not commented as of the time the reports were filed. Some senior APC officials were seen leaving the area of the NDC meeting, and Obi and Kwankwaso had not arrived at the venue when the reports were written.

Why it matters

Campaign season is picking up, and crowded rallies and town halls in city centres raise real safety concerns for residents, traders and commuters. A confrontation on a busy highway like Murtala Mohammed Highway can quickly spill into traffic chaos and injury, and it puts pressure on police already stretched across the state.

For voters, the test is whether rival camps can share public spaces without turning political disagreement into violence. The police have asked both sides to keep their activities peaceful and within the law.

What happens next: The NDC town hall is expected to go ahead with Obi and Kwankwaso, though neither had arrived when the reports were filed. Police are likely to keep a presence around the venue and along the route of any further rallies.