The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Nigerian Police Force of leaving terrorists and other criminal elements to hunt opposition leaders.
This is coming under the heels of the Kaduna State Police Command’s summon of the former governor of the state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and six other members of the ADC.
NPO Reported that the Police had on Friday summoned El-Rufai and the six other ADC members over alleged criminal conspiracy, incitement of public peace disturbance, and causing grievous hurt.
These were in connection to last week’s disruption of ADC meeting by suspected political thugs who attacked and injured some members of the party.
The Police had since accused El-Rufai and the event organisers of being responsible for the attack with the summon being the latest update on the allegation.
Reacting to the development in a statement issued by its National Publicity, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC condemned the summon as it expressed concern over the alleged use of law enforcement agencies to harass and intimidate opposition leaders, while criminal violence continues to devastate communities across the country.
In what it described as politically motivated, the coalition party also expressed shock over attack on the former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami’s convoy in Kebbi State, days after the Kaduna fiasco.
The ADC described the developments as an assault not just on individual politicians, but on Nigeria’s democracy itself.
It warned that the Nigeria Police Force has seemingly become a willing tool of political suppression for the federal government rather than a national security department, that is truly focused on rooting out bandits and other criminals across the country.
While calling for the withdrawal of the summon against El-Rufai, the ADC, amongst other demands, also called for the unsealing of its Kaduna office which was locked following the attack.
It also charged the Nigerian Police Force to publish the names of those who filed complaints that triggered El-Rufai’s investigations and summons.
On Malami, the ADC demanded that security agencies arrest and prosecute those responsible for the attack.
The full statement reads; “At a time when terrorists and criminal gangs freely operate in large parts of the North, the Nigerian Police appears more interested in silencing opposition leaders than protecting citizens.
“After the recent attack in Kaduna, where the former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and other ADC leaders were attacked; in Kebbi, the convoy of former Minister for Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) was violently attacked in broad daylight around the GRA area of Birnin Kebbi—barely meters from a police outpost.
“Despite the seriousness of the attack, no arrests have been made, and the perpetrators remain at large. This growing trend is disturbing — and all Nigerians should take note.
“In Kaduna, the police reportedly looked away as thugs—armed with stones and cutlasses—attacked a peaceful ADC gathering. Instead of arresting those responsible, the police are now targeting the victims with summons.
“Every hour spent harassing El-Rufai and shutting down ADC offices is an hour not spent confronting the terrorists and criminals destroying lives across the North, and the urban bandits destroying the nation.
“To make matters worse, police authorities in Kaduna sealed off the ADC party offices ahead of a planned meeting of zonal leaders—a deliberate attempt to stifle our constitutional right to assemble and organize.
“The ADC wishes to place this on record: These acts by the police are not isolated.
“They represent a systematic attempt to criminalize opposition politics, especially in states where the ruling party feels threatened by the growing influence of the ADC.
“In this regard, the ADC calls on the Federal Government and the Inspector General of Police to immediately withdraw the politically motivated summons issued to Nasir El-Rufai and other ADC leaders in Kaduna State.
“These invitations are not about justice or security, they are about silencing dissent and should therefore be halted without delay.
“We demand that the police authorities unseal the ADC office in Kaduna State and stop the illegal obstruction of lawful political activity.
“No democracy can thrive where opposition party structures are routinely shut down under vague pretexts.
“The Nigeria Police must also publish the names of those who filed complaints that triggered these recent investigations and summons.
“The public deserves to know who is behind these attacks on political freedom, and what interests they serve.
“We further demand that security agencies arrest and prosecute those responsible for the attack on Abubakar Malami’s convoy in Kebbi State, as well as the violent thugs who disrupted our stakeholders’ meeting in Kaduna.
“The failure to bring these perpetrators to justice only emboldens further violence. In addition, we call for an internal disciplinary process within the police to investigate officers who were present during these incidents but failed to act.
“Those who stood by and allowed political violence to occur should not be wearing the uniform of the Nigerian state.
“Finally, we urge the Federal Government to redirect the focus of the Nigeria Police toward their primary duty—protecting the lives and property of all Nigerians— instead of being used as a tool of political manipulation.
“Our party will stand with our leaders and members. We will not be intimidated.”
