Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Enugu State Police Command has launched an investigation into a brazen attack on a grassroots meeting of the Nigeria Democratic Congress that left at least two people injured, in the latest eruption of political violence threatening to mar the lead-up to the 2027 general elections. The attack occurred at about 3:40 p.m. on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at Ndiuno-Obuoffia community in Nkanu West Local Government Area, where party members had gathered for a voter sensitisation and mobilisation meeting. According to eyewitness accounts, armed men stormed the venue while a speaker was educating residents on how to identify and vote for the NDC by recognising its logo, opening fire on the gathering and sending attendees fleeing for their lives.
The police confirmed that the first incident involved armed hoodlums who disrupted the NDC ward meeting with sporadic shootings that injured two attendees. However, the NDC's Enugu chapter subsequently claimed that eight of its members sustained gunshot injuries, naming them as Onovo Donald Ekene, Ngene Godwin Madueke, Ogbodo Gloria, Onovo Victor, Maduabuchi Ugwu, Nnaemeka Nelson, Chinonso Nwagbara, and Obinna Daniel Owo. The party also said canopies, chairs, and other political materials were destroyed during the incident. Videos circulating on social media appeared to show the meeting before the attack and the confusion that followed as attendees fled the scene. The divergent casualty figures could not be immediately reconciled, and the police have not officially confirmed the NDC's higher number.
The attack was one of two separate incidents targeting opposition gatherings in Nkanu West on the same day. The second occurred at St. Joseph Primary School in Agbani, where hoodlums allegedly destroyed canopies and chairs prepared for a Peoples Democratic Party rally. The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Mamman Giwa, has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department to thoroughly investigate both incidents and track down the attackers. The police spokesperson, Daniel Ndukwe, said that although there were no prior notifications for security cover for either gathering, operatives were promptly deployed to both scenes upon receipt of the reports to prevent further breaches and pursue the fleeing suspects. Giwa reiterated that all political activities in the state must be conducted peacefully and in accordance with the law, warning that electoral offences remain punishable. He urged political parties to promptly notify the police of their meetings and rallies to facilitate adequate security arrangements.
The NDC's national leadership condemned the attack in strong terms, describing it as unprovoked and warning against what it called incessant assaults on its members by suspected state-sponsored thugs. In a statement issued by National Publicity Secretary Osa Director, the party asserted its constitutional right to participate in the democratic process through peaceful assembly and declared that no amount of intimidation would silence that right. The party accused security agencies of complacency in responding to attacks against opposition groups in Enugu and across the South-East, recalling that its members were allegedly attacked twice in Imo State during a town hall meeting. It further alleged that the All Progressives Congress in Enugu was jittery and disturbed by the growing momentum of the opposition, but vowed that the attacks would only strengthen its resolve to canvass and mobilise for the 2027 elections.
The incident has raised fresh concerns over political violence in Enugu State, which is currently under the control of the All Progressives Congress, with the PDP and NDC as the leading opposition parties. Hon. Sampson Ukwu, media aide to NDC governorship aspirant Sir Christian Chinyeaka Ohaa, described the attack as an act of political thuggery intended to intimidate opposition members, while the NDC linked the Obuoffia incident to earlier disruptions of political gatherings in Akpugo and Obe wards. The party called on the police, the Department of State Services, and other security agencies to investigate the attack, identify those responsible, and bring them to justice, stressing that the lives of its members matter. As the police investigation continues and the political temperature rises across Enugu State, the attack on the NDC meeting serves as a grim reminder that the battle for 2027 is already being fought—and that the casualties are mounting before a single vote has been cast.
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