The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have traded accusations following an attack on NDC supporters by suspected political thugs during a town hall meeting in Ikeja, Lagos State.
While the NDC accused the ruling party of encouraging political violence and attempting to undermine democracy, the APC denied involvement and urged the opposition party to address its internal challenges.
The confrontation followed Thursday’s disruption of an NDC town hall meeting in Ikeja, where hoodlums armed with cutlasses, cudgels and stones reportedly invaded the venue, scattered chairs and forced participants to flee.
Some NDC supporters reportedly resisted the attackers by throwing chairs at them, triggering a confrontation.
The supporters later chased some of the fleeing attackers and apprehended one suspect at a car park.
A video of the incident showed some young men surrounding the suspect and hitting him with sticks.
The violence later spread to Kudirat Abiola Way, disrupting traffic, while police officers reportedly fired shots into the air to disperse the crowd.
Reacting to the incident, NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, described the attack as unfortunate and unwarranted.
In an interview, Director accused the APC of promoting what he described as barbaric politics.
“The attacks perpetrated against our members in Lagos State are unfortunate and unwarranted.
“The hard-earned, ruinous APC is planning to destroy our hard-earned democracy by their desperation and demonic politics of barbarism,” he said.
Similarly, the NDC Campaign Council spokesperson, Dr Constance Ikokwu, condemned the attack, describing it as an assault on democracy and citizens’ rights to political association.
She said, “We strongly condemn the reported violent attack on its supporters in Lagos by suspected political thugs.
“This is an unacceptable assault on democracy, citizens’ fundamental rights and the freedom of political association. No political party or group has a monopoly on Nigeria, and no one has the right to use violence, intimidation or thuggery to silence opposing voices.
“Nigeria is not a conquered territory, and political participation is not a crime. We demand an immediate investigation, the arrest and prosecution of those responsible, and an end to the dangerous culture of the political violence we’re witnessing in some states.
“Those who believe they can intimidate Nigerians into silence must understand that democracy belongs to the people, not to political thugs and their sponsors.
“We urge Nigerians to come out in large numbers in 2027, exercise their democratic rights and vote for the NDC as part of the peaceful demand for accountable leadership and a different direction for our country. The NDC and its supporters will not be intimidated, silenced or bullied out of exercising their democratic rights.”
However, former Lagos APC spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, denied his party’s involvement in the incident.
He said the allegation came on the same day the APC was holding its campaign in Epe, adding that the ruling party was too occupied with its political activities to be distracted.
Oladejo also advised the NDC to address its internal challenges.
He told media, “The first thing to note is that this allegation is coming on a day we are formally having our campaign in Epe. And Epe is very far away from Ikeja. Everybody who is anybody was there – members, all our candidates, the sitting governor.
“So, we are too busy to be distracted. The APC and the NDC are not the only parties in the elections. And we are the biggest stakeholders in this Lagos and, in fact, Nigeria.
“If they are having issues, they should look within their party. They cannot continue to be blaming the APC for everything that happens in the NDC. They should get serious in the business of opposition. There is nothing to prove that the APC is involved in this. So, they should look inward at the enemies within their party.”
As of the time of filing this report, the identities of the attackers, their alleged sponsors and the circumstances surrounding the incident had not been independently established.