Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The African Democratic Congress has warned that escalating political violence, attacks on opposition members and alleged voter intimidation could jeopardise the credibility of the 2027 general elections, accusing security agencies of failing to investigate and prosecute perpetrators despite documented incidents across at least nine states over a fourteen-month period.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, raised the alarm at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, where he presented what he described as a memorandum documenting attacks on opposition political activities between July 2025 and September 2026. “The election is not free and fair if opposition parties cannot campaign, organise and hold meetings without fear,” Abdullahi said. “The Nigerian police is not APC police; it is the police of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” He said the party had recorded incidents involving attacks on political meetings, destruction of party property, assault on participants and threats based on political preferences in Kaduna, Kebbi, Ekiti, Cross River, Rivers, Edo, Osun, Kogi and Enugu states. The ADC said responsibility had not been conclusively established in every case, but the frequency of the incidents and the absence of visible outcomes from police investigations gave the party serious cause for concern.
The memorandum cites the February 2026 attack on the ADC secretariat in Benin City, Edo State, during a political gathering, as well as gunshots fired at the residence of former Edo State Governor and ex-APC National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, where political leaders had gathered. Abdullahi said the Edo State Police Command confirmed the attacks and announced an investigation, but that the party had yet to be informed of any arrest, prosecution or public report on the outcome. He also disclosed that an ADC member identified as Kamadiyoi was killed three days before the press conference when party members preparing for a political meeting in Community Ward One, Odua Local Government Area of Rivers State, were attacked. Reports from the Rivers State Police Command confirmed that Kamadioye Krama, a father of four, was shot dead by gunmen in the Emulation community of Abua/Odual Local Government Area on Friday evening. The ADC spokesman further alleged that armed men disrupted an opposition gathering in Enugu, leaving participants injured, and that attacks on ADC members in two wards in Kogi State last week left several members hospitalised.
The party also cited inflammatory rhetoric by individuals associated with the ruling All Progressives Congress, including threats of physical punishment for refusing to support the APC and calls to attack opposition members. Abdullahi referred to a Borno State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development who allegedly threatened to cut off the fingers of individuals who refused to support the ruling party, and to the Chairman of Kuje Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory, who reportedly warned residents to either support the APC in 2027 or leave the council area. Days after those remarks, suspected thugs armed with cutlasses attacked an Accord Party political gathering in Kuje, injuring at least one person and destroying campaign materials, tables and chairs. The ADC said some of those invited by the police over the inflammatory statements were released after claiming their remarks were metaphorical, without prosecution.
Abdullahi called on the Inspector-General of Police to provide a public account of the status of investigations into the documented incidents, saying people had been killed, maimed and properties destroyed with no prosecutions as of mid-September. “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,” he said. He warned that continued failure by security agencies to protect opposition members could push the situation towards self-help and imperil the 2027 general elections. “We are getting close. We cannot ask our people to continue to turn the other cheek when they are being slapped all the time. We are not pastors or imams, or we are not running a religious organisation. We are running a political party,” he said.
The ADC also faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission for what it described as silence on the attacks, saying the commission had a responsibility to speak out because the conditions preceding election day formed part of the electoral process. The party alleged that advertising space was being denied to opposition parties, claiming that only ruling-party billboards were visible in Abuja, while some states demanded up to N200 million for a billboard, thereby tilting the playing field against non-incumbent candidates. This claim aligns with a suit filed by the Allied Peoples Movement and its presidential candidate, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, challenging the N200 million campaign advertising permit fee imposed by the Abia State Government, which the plaintiffs argue is unconstitutional and violates federal electoral law.
The ADC’s intervention comes amid a broader climate of political tension ahead of the 2027 general elections, scheduled for January 16, with the governorship and state assembly elections following on February 6. In recent weeks, the Nigeria Democratic Congress accused the APC and the Benue State Government of sending thugs to disrupt Peter Obi’s convoy on the Makurdi–Gboko highway, an allegation the state government denied. Amnesty International called for an investigation into that incident. In Osun State, the killing of an Accord Party chieftain at a motor park in Ile-Ife intensified a long-running dispute over the leadership of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, prompting the state government to announce a Park Management System to restore order.
The ADC said it maintains a central record of incidents, including dates, locations, witness accounts, photographic and video evidence, medical documentation and complaints to law enforcement, and would pursue petitions, judicial remedies and engagement with the National Human Rights Commission, the ECOWAS Court of Justice, the African Union and civil society organisations. The party urged international partners and an ECOWAS delegation currently in Nigeria to assess pre-election conditions, not just election-day activities, including whether meetings are protected and whether security agents are impartial.
On the contentious proposal for state police, Abdullahi said the ADC was closely monitoring the legislative process and was concerned that state-controlled police structures could be weaponised against opposition parties if adequate safeguards were not put in place. “We have the concern that you have, and all along, the argument against state police is not that we don’t need state police to strengthen Nigeria’s security system, it is that the state police can be weaponised against opposition political parties,” he said.
The ADC’s press conference adds to mounting concerns about the integrity of the 2027 electoral process. The Independent National Electoral Commission has itself warned that the misuse of artificial intelligence to create and spread manipulated content is no longer a distant risk, while the National Peace Committee has struggled to secure the participation of all major candidates in the signing of peace accords. As the campaign season intensifies, the question of whether opposition parties can organise, campaign and participate without fear of violence will be central to whether the elections are accepted as credible. For the ADC, the demand is straightforward: enforce the law without regard to political affiliation, investigate the documented attacks, and hold perpetrators accountable. Whether that demand will be met remains to be seen, but the party has placed its evidence on the record and signalled that it will not remain silent while its members are attacked.
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