The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the Kaduna State Police Command for its handling of the violent disruption of the party’s inauguration in Kaduna, where members were allegedly attacked by armed thugs.
In a statement on Sunday in Abuja, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the venue of the meeting had been duly booked in advance.
He said the party had expected the Kaduna police to reassure Nigerians that justice would be served and those responsible for the violence held accountable.
“Instead, what we read was a troubling attempt to criminalise legitimate political activity, prejudge individuals, and cast the opposition in the light of lawlessness,” he said.
Abdullahi noted that the police statement had linked the ADC to “political gangsters” even while announcing that investigations into the incident had begun.
“Investigations should establish facts before conclusions are drawn. When police act as judge and jury, it undermines both justice and democracy,” he said.
He also dismissed the police claim that the ADC gathering was “unauthorised,” insisting that the right to peaceful assembly was guaranteed by the Constitution, not granted by the state police command.
According to him, police notification was a matter of procedure and courtesy, not a licence to exercise a constitutional right.
Abdullahi further described the blanket suspension of “unauthorised gatherings” as declared by the Kaduna police as clear overreach.
“Security agencies are to protect lawful assemblies, not proscribe them. To arrogate to themselves the power to decide which political meetings may hold is to hand the police veto authority over democracy itself. In this regard, the ADC rejects all attempts by the Kaduna police to drag our name into acts of violence that we neither organised nor condone. Our party remains committed to peaceful, issue-based politics,” he said.
He called on the command to immediately review its statement, conduct a transparent investigation, and explain why its officers were absent when ADC leaders and members were attacked.
(NAN)