The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned Saturday’s attack on its members during a gathering in Alimosho LGA, Lagos State, where party leaders, including Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, were present to formally declare his membership of the opposition party.
The party expressed outrage that political thugs desecrated a church by spilling blood in its vicinity where a peaceful meeting was meant to hold, describing the incident as evidence of the ruling party’s desperation without boundaries.
The ADC warned that the Saturday invasion of the church venue in Lagos, while outrageous on its own, is consistent with the growing authoritarian temper that the ruling party has demonstrated against the opposition in recent weeks, which, if not challenged on time, might get worse in the months ahead as the ruling party gets even more jittery with the widespread popularity of the ADC.
The ADC recalls the recent declaration of the APC as a terrorist organisation by a Canadian court and asserts that the only way the ruling party could recover whatever is left of its reputation globally is to stop the serial acts of suppressing the opposition party and allow democracy to thrive in Nigeria.
The party also calls on the Nigeria Police to remember that its primary loyalty is to the constitution and the Nigerian people, not the ruling party. It must, therefore, rise above partisan interests and not allow itself to be turned into the armed wing of the APC.
The full statement read:
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is outraged by the attack that occurred at an ADC gathering in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, where ADC leaders and members had gathered for a peaceful meeting.
The ADC particularly condemns the invasion of the church premises where the meeting was meant to hold, by government-backed political thugs who spilled blood, seized properties, and destroyed vehicles. This attack on a church premises is a profound act of desecration by a jittery ruling party who would stop at nothing to silence opposition voices in the country.
With this attack on a church, no one can predict how far this APC under President Tinubu is willing to go in its desperate quest to hold on to power at all costs. It started in Edo with a warning to ADC leaders not to visit the state, followed by Kogi, and then the shutting down of a private radio station in Niger, before it escalated to sponsored attacks on peaceful meetings in Kaduna, followed by attacks on convoys of ADC leaders in Kebbi.
Now, APC-sponsored thugs have gone so far as attacking a church premises. If churches and other places of worship are no longer regarded as inviolable by the APC goons, how then does the party intend to prove to the world that it is not indeed a terrorist organisation? After all, attacking places of worship is what terrorists do.
It should indeed be noted, opposition and dissent are the hallmarks of democracy. Yet, APC’s total intolerance for both, especially under President Tinubu, has no parallel in the 26-year history of this 4th Republic.
The ADC calls on the Nigeria Police to rise above partisan interests and demonstrate that they are not compromised. The police have a duty to ensure that justice is served swiftly and transparently to the perpetrators of the attack in Lagos, Kaduna, Kebbi, and all other states where ADC leaders have been threatened and assaulted. The perpetrators of these shameful acts must be identified, arrested, and prosecuted. Nigerians are watching, and the credibility of our institutions is on trial before the whole world.
One thing is certain: the APC’s resort to violence and intimidation is a glaring confession of its failure. Rather than present a track record of achievements to the Nigerian people, the APC wants to bulldoze its way into another election season by eliminating opposition. This is the mark dictatorship.
On our part, the ADC will remain undeterred. We are committed to engaging Nigerians peacefully, constructively, and courageously. But we will not fold our arms while our leaders are attacked and our gatherings are turned into battlegrounds.
This must stop. And it must stop now.
