The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, and other security agencies over the disruption of its peaceful walk in Asaba at the weekend, which left one person dead and five others injured, with vehicles destroyed.
The party is demanding the immediate arrest and prosecution of the alleged APC thugs and their sponsors.
It called for a full-scale investigation into the bloody incident, which led to a breakdown of law and order in the city, even after the party had obtained the necessary police approval for the processions to be held. It also called for those found culpable, and their sponsors or financiers, to be made to face the full weight of the law in accordance with the Constitution.
Some of the charges preferred against the attackers of its peaceful rally, in a statement signed by the Director, Media and Publicity, Ochei Media Team, include murder, attempted murder, grievous bodily harm, malicious damage to property, unlawful assembly, and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace.
It maintained that every political party, whether in government or opposition, has an inalienable right to campaign freely without intimidation, harassment or fear of attack, stating that any attempt to sweep the barbaric acts of the weekend under the carpet would be regarded as a deliberate effort to undermine democratic values by stifling the opposition.
It reminded the security agencies of their constitutional duty under Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution, which provides that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government, adding that it has therefore become expedient to guarantee the protection of all political parties and actors in the build-up to the 2027 general elections.
While reaffirming that the party would continue to engage members of the public in more civilised and robust issue-based campaigns, it noted that every political party, whether in government or opposition, has an inalienable right to campaign freely without intimidation, harassment or fear of attack.
The statement read in part: “No amount of intimidation, thuggery or bloodletting can stop a movement whose time has come. The will of the people cannot be macheted into submission. The march continued. The spirit remained unbroken. The message resonated louder than their violence.“To those who carried out this heinous act and those who sent them, hear this loud and clear: Your actions will not go unpunished.
“There is no statute of limitations on criminality. There is no hiding place for political thuggery in a constitutional democracy. We will pursue every legal avenue, local and international, to ensure that justice is served. We will document, we will petition, we will litigate, and we will not rest until every hand that lifted a machete against an innocent Nigerian answers for it.
“Nigeria is not a banana republic. Delta State is not a lawless society. We will not allow our nascent democracy to be dragged back to the dark days where elections were won through bloodshed and ballot-box brigandage.
“Violence is the last refuge of those who have already lost the argument. And in this contest, you have already lost,” it stated.
Continuing, the NDC said: “Despite this provocation, the NDC remains committed to issue-based, peaceful and people-centred campaigns. We urge our teeming supporters to remain calm, law-abiding and resolute. Do not retaliate. Do not be provoked. Let our response be at the polling unit, with our Permanent Voter Cards, with our voices, and with our votes.
“We also call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), civil society organisations, the media, religious leaders and the international community to take note of this dangerous descent into political violence and to hold all actors accountable.
“Democracy thrives where dissent is tolerated and opposition is protected. Any attack on one party is an attack on all parties and on democracy itself.
“The march has ended, but the movement has only just begun,” it concluded.