The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has vowed to take the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the ECOWAS Court of Justice over what it described as coordinated attacks on its members across Nigeria.
The opposition party accused the ruling APC of attempting to stifle dissent and weaken political competition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement on Saturday, the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, alleged that attacks on its members had become rampant in states governed by the APC.
“We will send petitions to relevant international missions, starting with ECOWAS,” Abdullahi said. “The international community needs to pay attention to what the APC is doing to democracy and to suppress opposition voices in Nigeria.”
The ADC listed incidents of violence against its members in Kaduna, Ekiti, Ogun, and Lagos, describing them as part of a broader pattern of intimidation.
On August 30, hoodlums reportedly invaded an ADC meeting in Kaduna attended by former governor Nasir El-Rufai, leaving several people injured. El-Rufai had condemned the attack as “a dangerous descent into lawlessness.”
In Ekiti State, the party’s secretariat was set ablaze last Tuesday, just hours before the inauguration of new state executives. The ADC National Secretary, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who was to preside over the event, described the attack as “a shameful display of intolerance and a threat to democratic coexistence.”
In Lagos, the ADC said hoodlums disrupted a rally held in Alimosho to receive Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and the party’s governorship candidate in the state, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.
Similarly, in Ogun State, the ADC accused police operatives of breaking up its campaign rally in Sagamu ahead of the Remo Federal Constituency by-election held in August.
Abdullahi warned that such incidents, if left unchecked, could undermine democracy and destabilise the 2027 electoral process.
“Democracy is under attack under the APC,” he said. “They are setting the stage for violence in 2027 with their intolerance of opposition. We have been attacked in Kaduna, Lagos, Ogun, and Ekiti, and the same rhetoric is now emerging in Kogi and Edo.”
He also cited a recent ruling by a Canadian court that reportedly described both the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as terrorist organisations, saying the spate of violence only reinforced that perception.
However, the North-Central APC Forum Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, dismissed the allegations as baseless and politically motivated.
“The APC has no involvement in any attacks on ADC members,” Zazzaga stated. “They should examine their internal issues. Some of their leaders have histories of political violence. We don’t use thugs in APC; we promote peaceful politics and education.”
He argued that the ADC’s lack of growth was due to what he called the “dubious track records” of some of its leaders.
“Nigerians know who their leaders are, and that’s why nobody wants to join them,” he said. “Their problems are internal, not caused by us.”
