ADC Slams Kaduna Police Over Disruption of Party Inauguration, Demands Justice

ADC Slams Kaduna Police Over Disruption of Party Inauguration, Demands Justice

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticized the Kaduna State Police Command for what it described as poor handling of the violent disruption of its party inauguration in Kaduna, where members were allegedly attacked by armed thugs.

In a statement issued in Abuja, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the venue for the inauguration had been duly secured ahead of the event.

Abdullahi expressed disappointment that the police response failed to reassure Nigerians that justice would be served and perpetrators 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.

The ADC spokesperson faulted the police for rushing to link the party to “political gangsters” despite acknowledging that investigations into the violence had only just begun.

“When police act as judge and jury, it undermines both justice and democracy,” Abdullahi stressed.

He rejected the Kaduna police claim that the ADC gathering was “unauthorised,” insisting that in a democracy, the right to peaceful assembly is enshrined in the Constitution.

According to Abdullahi, notifying the police is a matter of procedure and courtesy, not a prerequisite for exercising constitutional rights.

He further argued that no democracy thrives where security agencies arbitrarily determine access to public or private venues.

Abdullahi also condemned the blanket suspension of “unauthorised gatherings” announced by the Kaduna police, describing it as unconstitutional.

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“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,” he said.

He rejected any attempt to link the ADC to violence, reaffirming the party’s commitment to issue-based, peaceful politics.

“In this regard, the ADC rejects all attempts by the Kaduna state police command to drag our name into acts of violence that we neither organised nor condone. Our party remains committed to peaceful, issue-based politics,” Abdullahi reiterated.

The ADC called on the Kaduna police command to review its statement, conduct a transparent investigation and explain the absence of security personnel when party members came under attack.