ADC chieftain condemns assault on celebration members in Lagos

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress in Lagos State, Olalekan Anjolaiya, has condemned the alleged assault on new members of the celebration who not too long ago defected from the Labour Party within the state.

PidomNigeria On-line studies that the Information Company of Nigeria reported that unidentified hoodlums on Saturday disrupted a defection ceremony organised to formally welcome the previous LP members into the ADC in Alimosho Native Authorities Space of the state.

The hoodlums, reportedly numbering over 100, stormed the primary venue of the occasion on the LP workplace within the Idimu space of the state and despatched members, together with officers, working for his or her lives.

The hoodlums, who reportedly wielded completely different sorts of weapons, together with knives and canes, allegedly beat anybody they caught whereas the mayhem lasted.

It was gathered that some celebration members sustained various levels of accidents through the assault.

Undeterred by the disruption, officers of the 2 events have been stated to have organized another venue on the Eco Centre Occasion in Egbeda.

Recounting the ordeal, the LP chairman in Alimosho, Mr Olanrewaju Olushola, popularly generally known as Heritage, described the assault on his members as unwarranted.

Additionally reacting, the celebration’s secretary in Alimosho, Mr Moses Akujuobi, together with different members, alleged that plans for the open ceremony of their defection had earlier been stopped by the police on the grounds that they didn’t acquire approval.

He advised NAN that they’d earlier contacted the Space M Commander, ACP Abaniwonda, who reportedly stated she didn’t have the facility to grant approval for political occasions within the state, including that solely the Commissioner of Police may achieve this.

He claimed that closely armed policemen in vans arrived on the second venue shortly after the hoodlums, who had are available in a number of automobiles, left the realm and allegedly sealed off the place.

In a press release made accessible to PidomNigeria On-line late Saturday, the ADC chieftain condemned what he described as a “violent assault” on members of the Labour Party who have been defecting to the ADC.

Anjolaiya, popularly generally known as AEROSOFT, stated the motion was not solely an assault on harmless residents however a direct affront to democracy and the constitutional rights of Nigerians.

He additionally faulted the position allegedly performed by the police within the incident, describing it as totally disturbing.

Based on him, sealing off the occasion venue “on directions from above” is unacceptable in a constitutional democracy ruled by the rule of legislation.

“The police are constitutionally mandated to guard lives, property, and lawful political actions — to not suppress or hinder them,” he acknowledged.

He alleged that on a number of events, the police in Lagos had acted in an analogous method, conducting themselves as if they have been card-carrying members of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

The ADC chieftain additional claimed {that a} related violent assault was meted out to supporters of the Labour Party’s 2023 governorship candidate within the state, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, throughout his affirmation occasion, reinforcing perceptions of selective policing and political bias.

He stated Part 40 of the 1999 Structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) unequivocally ensures the rights to peaceable meeting and freedom of affiliation.

“Political participation, together with the choice to decamp from one political celebration to a different, is a lawful and democratic course of that should be revered and guarded by all state establishments.

“The usage of violence, intimidation, and state equipment to stifle political alternative undermines our democracy and units a harmful precedent”, he acknowledged.

Based on him, Nigeria should not degenerate right into a system the place residents are attacked for exercising their political rights whereas legislation enforcement businesses both look the opposite approach or act in ways in which threaten peace and public order.

He stated, “Democracy can solely thrive when the desire of the individuals is revered, dissent is protected, and political competitors is performed with out worry, coercion, or violence.

“Any try to intimidate or silence residents will solely strengthen the resolve of those that consider in a freer, fairer, and extra accountable Nigeria.”

“We won’t be silenced. We won’t be intimidated. The democratic rights of Nigerians should be upheld always.”