By Our Reporter
The opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of orchestrating a violent attack on its secretariat and party leaders in Benin City, Edo State, in an incident that has intensified fears over political intolerance. Edo State ADC Chairman, Kennedy Odion, alleged that suspected APC-backed thugs stormed the party secretariat shortly after a political meeting, injuring three persons and destroying several vehicles. “We heard APC was coming to attack us. We quickly cut short the event and ended the programme. A few minutes after we ended, we heard that thugs stormed the venue. They injured three people,” Odion reportedly said, adding that the attackers also moved to the residence of former APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun where ADC leaders had gathered and destroyed vehicles parked outside. He confirmed that the Commissioner of Police visited the scene and assured the party that the matter would be investigated.
However, the Edo State Government and the APC denied any involvement, attributing the violence to internal disputes within the ADC. State Commissioner for Information, Kassim Afegbua, said: “The crisis has been ongoing. Even yesterday, we had to use the police to quell the crisis… What happened was just the height of it.” He also reportedly referenced an earlier warning by Governor Monday Okpebholo to Labour Party leader Peter Obi, saying: “If Peter Obi had informed the governor that he was coming, what happened today would not have happened. The governor would have provided security for him… Thank God nothing happened to Peter Obi.” Edo APC Chairman, Emperor Jarret Tenebe, also dismissed the allegation, asking, “Did the attackers wear APC uniforms? What is happening in ADC is a factional fight… They should not drag us into their fight.”
But Senator Roland Owie reportedly dismissed claims of internal divisions and blamed the attack on what he described as worsening insecurity under the current administration. “We were at the ADC secretariat where Mr. Olumide Akpata came to declare for the ADC. We rounded off the programme and left for home. I later saw on the television that they raided the secretariat and attacked former Governor Oyegun’s house,” he was reported to have said. Rejecting suggestions of a rift between him and Oyegun, Owie added: “How can that be? There is nothing like that… This government has turned the state upside down. Strange things are happening in the state now. There is no government in the state. Insecurity has been high in Edo since Okpebholo took over.”
Akpata also was reported to have described the attack as alarming, stating, “Such a happening makes someone very sad but it shows that people are not comfortable with opposition… it is because we are in the opposition that is why we are under attack.”
The Edo State Police Command confirmed that suspected hoodlums disrupted the political gathering shortly after it ended, damaging canopies and chairs, while security personnel were later deployed to the ADC secretariat and Oyegun’s residence. Police spokesperson Eno Ikoedem said officers responded swiftly and reinforced security, adding that investigations were ongoing to identify those responsible.
Reacting strongly, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar described the incident as “utterly condemnable and unacceptable in any democracy,” warning that Nigeria “must not descend into a theatre where politics is settled by violence.” The attack, coming amid prior warnings by the governor and sharp exchanges between political actors, has further heightened tensions in Edo State and raised troubling questions about the safety of opposition figures and the future of democratic competition.
With additional reports from the Vanguard