The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rebuked in great rebuke the brutal assault on its members in a meeting at Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State on Saturday where the party’s leaders, including Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, were present to officially declare his party membership.
In a press statement by its national publicity secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC termed the desecration of the church compound where the meeting was held as an invasion, with political thugs spilling blood, vandalising vehicles, and appropriating buildings.
The party accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of the violence and cautioned that the incidence signals a rising pattern of authoritarianism and intolerance for opposition parties.
Abdullahi also referenced a recent terrorism designation of the APC by a Canadian court, stating that the ruling party’s international image will continue to dip unless it stops suppressing opposition and allows democracy to thrive.
He went further to call on the Nigeria Police to stick to its constitutional obligation to the citizenry instead of being partisan, warning against making the force what he called the “armed wing of the APC.”
The ADC is shocked by the attack and sees it as a desperate act by an anxious ruling party trying to silence opposition voices. We call on security forces to ensure that justice is served and protect democratic freedoms,” the statement added.
