Ahead 2027, ADC raises the alarm over rise in political violence, voter intimidation

• *Blames it on ‘all is fair in politics’ comment by Tinubu

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has raised the alarm over what it called an increase in spate of political violence and voter intimidation in recent times, warning that if not contained,  such might set negative template for the 2027 general election.

The party raised the alarm at a press conference addressed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi on Monday in Abuja.

Abdullahi, who presented to the media, certain facts and  raised questions about the response of the relevant authorities, demanded that the government and relevant agencies take steps necessary to ensure that every Nigerian can exercise his or her political rights without fear of violence or intimidation.

According to the ADC National Publicity Secretary, “every Nigerian has the right to support a political party of their choice. Every registered political party has the right to organize, hold meetings, and conduct its lawful activities.

“The government has a responsibility to protect those rights, and the police have a duty to enforce the law without regard to political affiliation”, he said

While urging security agencies to always apply rule of engagement, the ADC said the Police should remain impartial in dealing with cases of political violence across the country.

In the words of Abdullahi, “The Nigerian police is not APC police; it is the police of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. These are not extraordinary demands; they are the ordinary requirements of constitutional government, and so citizens should not have to struggle the way we are doing to obtain the rights that the constitution already guaranteed us, which is the right to organize ourselves and the right to campaign openly and without fear for our lives”.

While presenting the various incidence of cases of violence against ADC members, he said “between July 2025 and September 2026, we have documented a series of incidents involving attacks on political meetings of opposition political parties, destruction of party properties, assault on political participants, and threats directed at citizens because of their political preferences.

“Our memorandum examines incidents reported across several states, including Kaduna, Kebbi, Ekiti, Cross River, Rivers, Edo, Osun, Kogi, and Enugu. The incident which defined their circumstances, and responsibility has not been conclusively established in every case.

“Nevertheless, their frequency, the nature of the activities affected, and the questions surrounding the response of the law enforcement agencies give us serious cause for concern.

“Consider what happened in Edo State in February this year. The ADC Secretariat in Benin was attacked during a political gathering, while gunshots were also reported at the residence of the former governor of Edo State and former APC national chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, where political leaders had gathered, the Edo Police Command confirmed the attack on the Secretariat, reported damage at the former governor’s residence, and ordered an investigation.

“Since February, nothing has happened: no arrest, no prosecution, and no report of what actually happened in the course of the investigation by the police, which they promised.

“As we move closer to the elections, the situation of political violence against opposition political party members have grown even worse.

“Only three days ago, as our members were preparing for a political meeting in River State, specifically in Community Ward One in Odua Local Government Area of River State, that’s the home of our vice presidential candidate, they were attacked, and this led to the killing of one of our party members, a young man named Kamadiyoi.

“Although this incident has been reported to the police authorities, it does not appear that they are willing to take any action that could bring the perpetrators to justice and prevent future recurrence.

“About the same time that our members were being attacked in Rivers State, we received reports from Enugu that armed men disrupted an opposition political gathering where injuries were recorded.

“Similarly, last week, about five days ago, we received reports of another attack on our members as they prepared for meetings in two separate wards in Kogi State, the attacks which were carried out by thugs suspected to be acting on behalf of the ruling party APC left several members of our party injured. Many of them are still in the hospital battering for their lives”, he lamented.

According to the party, these incidents require proper investigation, including an examination of allegations against both private individuals and public security personnel who were complicit or who have inspired people to carry out the kind of attacks they are carrying out against our members.

His words, “What we are saying is that a record of repeated violence against lawful political activity demands serious government response, which we are not seeing. “So it’s either government is sanctioning what is happening, or they are saying that they are powerless and incompetent to stop it.

“Where attacks occur around announced meetings, the opening of party offices, movement of certain political leaders, or the conduct, as it happened to Peter Obi in Benue State, the movement or the conduct of elections, the authorities must examine whether adequate preventive arrangements were made, and whether any failure contributed to the incident.

“The public should not have to accept that holding a political meeting in Nigeria is an is an activity for which you need to take a life insurance,” he said.

The ADC claimed, however, that the comment made by President Bola Tinubu that “all is fair in politics” has encouraged  pronouncement of violence on opposition by APC chieftains.

According to him, “In recent weeks, we have rhetorics from members of the ruling party calling for violence of all sorts against opposition political parties, and it started with the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria saying that all is fair in politics, he provided the philosophical background on which his members were now acting.

“You heard one commissioner Kosain Abuba who made remarks, threatening physical punishment, including amputation of arms against anybody who refused to vote for APC or any critic of the government, for that matter. He subsequently apologized, and we took those remarks. We noted that, but he said it.

“We heard here in the federal capital a chairman of a local government, Kuje local government specifically, named Danjuma Shekulo, who told residents of Kuje that if they will not vote for APC, they should vacate the local government, threatening Nigerian citizens with eviction based on their political conviction.

“The widely reported case of the of Senator Fadahunsi Francis in Osun State, in case we forget, is still there. He said he called on members of his party to look out for members of opposition and kill them. He actually said that they have families, they have wives, they have children. Wherever you find them, kill them.

“He was invited by the police. He said he meant it metaphorically, meaning that what he said that they should kill people, that they should kill wives of opposition with votes, and they should kill children of opposition with votes, because they think we are stupid.

“So, he said he meant it metaphorically. The police invited him and released him. Up till now, we have not had anything. What we are saying, in essence, and there is a particular case.

“There is another case of a leader of APC saying that women whose husbands do not vote or support APC should divorce their husband. So APC is now championing divorce and breaking up people’s homes depending on political affiliation,” the party recalled.

Abdullahi said the party is  not crying, but serving notice, “because when the state refuses to protect citizens, citizens have the right to embark on self-help before the condition degenerates into that, and that’s why we are sounding this note of warning.

“ADC is not crying out. ADC is not even saying, “Please help us”. ADC is putting records straight that this cannot continue. We stand for non-violence. We have said it that we will not support violence of what in whatever form.

‘We have told our candidates to avoid any form of rhetoric that is likely to incite violence, but we cannot control how people will respond when they are being attacked, and that’s why we are serving these notices”, he said.

The party lamented that with all these cases documented, as at mid-September, the police authorities or government authorities have not identified a single person and prosecuted that person or brought them to justice.

The ADC, therefore called on the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu to provide appropriate public accounts of the status of these investigations.

His words, “People have been killed, people have been maimed, properties have been burned and destroyed. Police say they are investigating, so we want to know the status of the investigations they have conducted.

“Needless to say, that Nigerian laws protect citizens and grant rights for citizens to decide which political parties to support, to express themselves politically, including organizing protests.

“We don’t need police permission to organize protests. We don’t need police permission to hold political meetings.

“We don’t need police permission to to decide which party to support or who not to support. These laws are guaranteed. These rights are guaranteed to us by the constitution.

“So, and that’s why we are putting this on notice that Nigeria is not a banana republic. We are not under military regime. Even under military regime, people organized protests, people organized political activities. So we are supposed to be under a democracy, but these rights are being flagrantly violated by a ruling party that has that has made violation of the rule of law a political strategy.

“And we repeat, when the president of the federal republic says all is fair in politics, he is giving license to all kind of thugs and criminals to do whatever they like in the service of his interest, and we reject that as a political, as opposition political party,” the statement reads.

The party vowed  to pursue this matter through lawful channels available, regardless of what the police or the government does, adding that it currently maintains a central record of reported incidents, including dates, locations, witness accounts, photographic and video evidence, medical documentations, and records of complaints submitted to law enforcement agencies.

“That record is getting thicker by the day. We will preserve relevant material. We will submit appropriate petitions to the responsible authorities and seek judicial remedies where the circumstances justify them.

“We will also ensure that advance security requests for lawful political activities are properly documented, so that questions concerning notification responsibilities and the response of security agencies can be resolved by reference to reliable records.

“Let us make this clear, we are keeping records. We are documenting every single incident. All those who hide under the authority of the state today, and the official position they occupy currently to violate the rights of citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, no matter how long it takes, they will face the consequence of their actions, and this is why we document today, not because we expect them to do anything, because whatever is happening is happening in their political interest.

“But are we documenting to ensure that someday, no matter how long it takes, they are brought to justice, and that is why we will continue to engage the National Human Rights Commission, the Ecowas Community Court of Justice, the African Union, and the International Court of Human Rights, and relevant judicial bodies, relevant civil society organizations, the party said.

END