Rising attacks on the opposition

The frequent attacks on opposition political parties in Nigeria are a present danger to our democracy. The phenomenon highlights the height of rising political intolerance in the country and may torpedo this emerging democracy. It should be condemned by well-meaning Nigerians.

These attacks have a particular predictable pattern, be it in Lagos, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kogi, Edo, Cross River or Rivers states. They can be said to be premeditated. In the latest incident in Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State, thugs suspected to be loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC) disrupted the inauguration of a new secretariat for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the area.

The attack, which occurred last Saturday, saw the thugs attacking party members and destroying some property. They reportedly shouted that only the APC would be allowed in Bakassi. A similar action was reported to have occurred in Ogoja Local Council Area of the state during a reception for defecting members. A chieftain of the ADC and presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, rightly described the incident as an attack on democracy itself.

Obi and some other chieftains of the ADC were similarly attacked in Benin, the Edo State capital, last February. They had gathered in Benin to receive the 2024 governorship candidate of the Labour Party and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olumide Akpata, into the ADC. Political thugs shot at them, wounding some people and destroying some property, including cars and furniture.

Earlier in the month, there was a similar attack on the convoy of a leader of the ADC and former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, between Ubima and Omuanwa in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. The suspected political thugs had earlier set the ward office of the party at Ubima ablaze and riddled Amaechi’s family house gate with bullets. There had been similar attacks on the ADC in such states as Lagos, Ekiti, Kebbi and Kaduna.

It is not too certain where these series of violent acts are coming from. Major opposition parties, which have condemned them, alleged that they were attempts by the ruling APC to intimidate and weaken the opposition before the next election. The leadership of the APC has denied the allegation, but it should condemn the attacks as well. This is because injustice to one is injustice to all.

Invariably, the attacks do not bode well for our democracy and continued existence as one nation. Our democracy should not be allowed to degenerate to a one-party state. Nigeria needs a viable opposition to function as a full democracy. Anything short of this will lead to totalitarianism.

Those responsible for these incidents are not democrats. They are enemies of this country. The opposition parties must rise against them and also brace up for the challenges ahead. They must show resilience and steadfastness to withstand the efforts to cripple them.

Unfortunately, they appear not united. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is depleted and factionalised, with only two governors still remaining as members of the party. Litigation trailed the national convention of a faction of the party held in Ibadan in November 2025. That convention has been nullified by an Appeal Court in Abuja. The local government congress of the faction loyal to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, also ended in fiasco in Oyo State as thugs disrupted the event in some parts of the state.   

The same leadership crisis has crippled the Labour Party, which did well in the 2023 general election. At least, there are three identified factions fighting for the control of the party: Julius Abure, Nenadi Usman and Lamidi Apapa factions.

The other opposition parties are just there. Some of the five governors who are still in one opposition party or the other have pledged allegiance to President Bola Tinubu. This partly shows that Nigerian politicians don’t have any ideology. They are political strange bedfellows who merely congregate to fight for power, with money as major bait. It explains their frequent defection to the ruling party. Thirty-one of the 36 governors now belong to the APC. Unless there is a total overhaul of our political system, the country’s democracy will continue to wobble.

In all, the ruling party should learn to tolerate opposing views and allow opposition parties to be. All parties must ensure that the 2027 elections are devoid of attacks and violence. They must avoid taking the route of the First and Second Republic politicians, whose eccentric and intolerable actions led to military interventions. Political leaders should shun incendiary comments and avoid heating up the polity.

Security agencies must fish out those behind the senseless attacks on the opposition. We commend the police for arresting one of the suspected attackers of the ADC chieftains in Edo. He and others like him must be made to face the full weight of the law.