The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned the attack on its Ekiti State Secretariat in Ado-Ekiti, describing it as a deliberate act of political terrorism aimed at silencing opposition voices ahead of the governorship election.
In a statement issued by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, on Tuesday, the party said the attack occurred just hours before its scheduled Reconfiguration and Affirmation Ceremony.
According to the ADC, the incident forms part of a disturbing pattern of politically motivated violence targeting its members and structures across several states.
“It is criminal, anti-democratic, and a disgrace to all who claim to believe in political freedom,” the statement read.
The party alleged that since it was unveiled as the opposition coalition party of choice in July, its members and facilities have been subjected to orchestrated attacks nationwide.
It recalled that in Kaduna, party leaders were assaulted during an inauguration event on August 30. In Lagos, ADC officials were attacked in Alimosho. In Kebbi, the convoy of party leaders came under attack in Birnin Kebbi in early September. In Kogi, the party’s secretariat in Dekina was targeted. And in Edo, the party accused the state governor of issuing “thinly veiled threats” to its members.
“Even if each of these cases could be dismissed as actions of political miscreants, taken together — five states, multiple incidents, a consistent target — they form a pattern too dangerous to ignore. This is no longer about partisanship; it is about the integrity of the political process itself,” the statement added.
The ADC decried what it called a “conspiracy of silence” among those who claim to be defenders of democracy, warning that a system that looks away while opposition parties are violently suppressed is “a system begging for crisis.”
The party accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of instigating the attacks out of fear of ADC’s growing influence.
“Because our message resonates with everyday Nigerians who are tired of the failures of the APC-led administration, and because our structures are expanding, the APC continues to attack us. The fire in Ekiti is further confirmation that the APC is afraid of the rising wave of the ADC,” it stated.
The ADC called for an independent investigation into the Ekiti attack and the prosecution of all perpetrators, stressing that democracy in Nigeria is under serious threat.
