ADC to APC: Stop shedding crocodile tears over political violence

By Luminous Jannamike ABUJA – The African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of sponsoring attacks on opposition parties across the country, dismissing the ruling party’s condemnation of political violence as an attempt to conceal its alleged complicity. The council said the APC could not condemn attacks on opposition gatherings while allegedly encouraging violence against political opponents, warning that the development threatened democratic freedom and the ability of parties to campaign freely ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, the ADC-PCC was reacting to a statement by the APC Presidential Campaign Council condemning attacks on opposition parties during their political gatherings. It challenged the ruling party to take responsibility and call its members to order. “The APC cannot pretend to be a victim of the very violence it has nurtured, funded and unleashed on Nigerians since it came to power.

“From Edo to Cross River, from Gombe to Lagos, the pattern is the same: APC thugs disrupt opposition gatherings, attack innocent supporters, destroy campaign materials and then rush to the press to shed crocodile tears,” it said. The council specifically linked the disruption of Thursday’s scheduled town hall meeting of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Lagos to what it described as the APC’s established tactics of intimidation and political sabotage.

“The disruption of Thursday’s scheduled town hall meeting of the Nigeria Democratic Congress in Lagos bears the unmistakable fingerprints of the APC. “It is the same old script: orchestrate violence, intimidate the opposition, disrupt their activities and then issue public condemnations to cover up,” it alleged. Beyond the Lagos incident, the ADC-PCC accused APC governors of frustrating opposition activities through the denial of rally venues, demolition of opposition offices, physical attacks on party members and destruction of their vehicles.

It also alleged that restrictions on party posters, candidates’ billboards and public political activities, alongside the imposition of prohibitive fees, were being used to suffocate opposition campaigns. The council maintained that while opposition parties were engaging Nigerians on hunger, insecurity, unemployment, corruption and governance under President Bola Tinubu, the APC had allegedly resorted to violence because it had little to offer the electorate.

Questioning the ruling party’s sudden expression of concern over political violence, the ADC-PCC recalled alleged attacks on its members, including the destruction of billboards, disruption of rallies and physical assaults on supporters. “Where was the APC’s condemnation when our billboards were destroyed, our rallies disrupted and our members brutalised?

“Their sudden concern is not about peace; it is about diverting attention from their own atrocities,” it said. The council urged President Tinubu to heed the counsel of elder statesman, Professor Jerry Gana, and ensure that political activities were conducted in an atmosphere of peace, tolerance and democratic freedom. It also disclosed that the ADC was compiling records of alleged attacks on its members and would submit appropriate reports to relevant international judicial and human rights institutions.

Reaffirming its commitment to peaceful, issue-based campaigns, the council declared that alleged intimidation and violence would not stop its mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections. “No amount of APC-sponsored violence will stop Nigerians from voting for competence, integrity and a new beginning in 2027,” it declared.