Nigeria is descending into a perilous era of political thuggery under the current administration, where violence and intimidation are increasingly weaponised to suppress democracy and stifle political participation, a former governor of Anambra and the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has said.
Mr Obi disclosed this in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Monday.
Last Friday, armed thugs reportedly attacked members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Ubima Community, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, destroyed the party’s Ward 8 secretariat and fired gunshots near the residence of a former governor of Rivers Rotimi Amaechi.
The incident occurred as Mr Amaechi, a leading figure in the party, was expected in his hometown for the ADC’s party registration and membership revalidation exercise.
Mr Obi said the recent attack on Mr Amaechi and the brutal assault on his supporters during a political event starkly illustrate the deteriorating state of democracy.
“The attack on Amaechi’s convoy in Rivers State, the orchestrated burning of African Democratic Congress (ADC) offices, and the rampant disruption of political meetings nationwide are alarming developments that cannot be ignored,” he said.
He added that the failure to arrest and prosecute those responsible for these acts signals a grave danger—the steady erosion of the very foundation of democracy and the entrenchment of lawlessness by those entrusted to enforce the law.
“If we do not confront this troubling trend with unwavering resolve, citizens will feel compelled to take matters into their own hands simply to exercise their democratic rights.
“Nigeria cannot claim to be a democracy while political actors are endangered simply for expressing themselves, organising, or attending meetings,” he said.
He said a nation where thugs dictate who can gather, speak, or campaign is not practicing democracy; stating that it is careening toward a brutal regime of political thuggery, aided and abetted by those in power.
“We must unequivocally reject this descent into a democracy of thuggery. Nigerians deserve a political environment organised through competency, capacity, compassion,and commitment to the good of society, not one controlled by incompetence and thuggery.”
Mr Obi said democracy must be defined by the rule of law, accountability, competence, and the unrestricted participation of citizens in shaping their nation’s future through political actions.
“A new Nigeria is not just possible; it is imperative, urgent, and achievable,” he said.
Last month, Mr Obi, John Oyegun, a top figure in ADC, and members of the Obidient Movement escaped an attack by hoodlums in Benin City, the Edo capital.
According to reports, the armed hoodlums shot at Messrs Obi and Oyegun, as well as members of the Obidient Movement, while they were moving to Mr Oyegun’s residence from the ADC secretariat in Edo.
The politicians had attended the party’s rally organised to formally receive former Edo LP governorship candidate Olumide Akpata from the Labour Party into the ADC.
Reacting to the attack at the time, the Edo State Government claimed that Mr Obi alleged that officials of the state government masterminded the attack.
Patrick Ebojele, the spokesperson to Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, described the allegations as “false, malicious and a clear misrepresentation of the facts.”
Mr Ebojele suggested that what happened on Tuesday in Edo could have been caused by an alleged internal crisis within the ADC.
