The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Nigeria Police Force of being used as a tool of political suppression, warning that recent actions against its leaders are dangerous for democracy.
The party raised the alarm over a police summons issued to former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and the attack on the convoy of former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), in Kebbi State.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the police appear more focused on silencing the opposition than protecting Nigerians from bandits and other criminals.
“At a time when terrorists and criminal gangs operate freely in large parts of the North, the Nigerian Police seems more interested in harassing opposition leaders than safeguarding lives and property,” Abdullahi said.
He alleged that in Kaduna, thugs armed with stones and cutlasses attacked a peaceful ADC gathering, while police officers reportedly looked the other way.
“Instead of arresting the attackers, the police are now summoning the victims,” he added.
The ADC also condemned the sealing of its party office in Kaduna State ahead of a planned zonal meeting, describing it as a deliberate attempt to stifle lawful political activity.
“Every moment the police spend harassing Mallam El-Rufai and shutting down our party offices is time wasted, time that should be used to confront terrorists and criminals who are destroying lives across the North and unleashing banditry in our cities.
“To make matters worse, the Kaduna police sealed off our offices just before a scheduled meeting of our zonal leaders, a clear attempt to deny us our constitutional right to gather and organize. Let it be clear: these are not isolated incidents. They are part of a deliberate effort to criminalize opposition politics, particularly in states where the ruling party feels threatened by the growing strength of the ADC.”
The ADC urged the Federal Government and the Inspector General of Police to withdraw what it described as politically motivated summons served on Nasir El-Rufai and other party leaders in Kaduna State.
According to the party, the summons have nothing to do with justice or security but are instead aimed at silencing dissent.
It also demanded the immediate reopening of its sealed office in Kaduna and an end to the unlawful obstruction of its political activities, stressing that democracy cannot survive when opposition party structures are repeatedly shut down on flimsy grounds.
“The Nigeria Police must come clean by publishing the names of those who filed the complaints that led to these politically motivated investigations and summons. Nigerians deserve to know who is behind these attacks on political freedom and whose interests they are serving.
“We are also demanding that security agencies arrest and prosecute those who carried out the attack on Abubakar Malami’s convoy in Kebbi, as well as the thugs who violently disrupted our stakeholders’ meeting in Kaduna.
“Failure to hold them accountable only encourages more violence. In addition, there must be an internal disciplinary process within the police to investigate officers who were present but failed to act. Anyone who stood by and allowed political violence to happen has no business wearing the uniform of the Nigerian state.”
The party further urged the Federal Government to redirect the focus of the police toward their constitutional duty of protecting the lives and property of Nigerians, rather than allowing the force to be used as a tool of political manipulation.
