Stop using violence to silence opposition, ADC cautions APC
The North West zone of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of sponsoring political thugs to silence opposition voices, warning that the party would resist the “dangerous slide towards dictatorship.” Chairman of the Coalition of ADC stakeholders, North West zone, Mal. Lawal Batagarawa, gave the warning on Thursday […]
The North West zone of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of sponsoring political thugs to silence opposition voices, warning that the party would resist the “dangerous slide towards dictatorship.”
Chairman of the Coalition of ADC stakeholders, North West zone, Mal. Lawal Batagarawa, gave the warning on Thursday during a solidarity visit to former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, following a recent attack on him and other opposition leaders in Kaduna.
Daily Trust reports that chaos erupted at the official inauguration of a transition committee jointly set up by opposition parties in Kaduna State last week, as suspected political thugs stormed the event, attacking participants and vandalising property.
The committee brought together members of the ADC, All Progressives Congress faction opposed to the state leadership alongside the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and Labour Party (LP).
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But Batagarawa described the incident as part of a growing pattern of political intolerance under the APC-led government.
“A government that uses state resources, security agencies, and violence to suppress political opponents is a dangerous threat to its own people. Democracy thrives on freedom of association and healthy competition not intimidation, fear, and oppression.
This cowardly, undemocratic, and criminal attack is not just an assault on the ADC; it is an assault on democracy itself,” he said.
The ADC warned that the use of thugs against political opponents could destabilise Kaduna and the wider North West region ahead of the 2027 elections.
On his part, El-Rufai, while receiving the delegation, faulted the move to stop the ADC event in the state with a purported court order.
However, efforts to get a response from the APC proved abortive as party officials neither answered their phone calls nor replied to text messages sent for their comments on the matter. But in an interview with Daily Trust a few days ago, on the alleged attack, the APC State Secretary, Yahaya Baba-Pate, denied the claims, saying the APC is a law-abiding party and does not support or engage in thuggery.