Thugs with machetes storm NDC meeting in Lagos, Tinubu’s home state

Armed men attacked supporters of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) at a town hall meeting in Lagos on Thursday, in the latest assault on the opposition party’s campaign ahead of the January presidential election.

The violence broke out at about 11 a.m. at Classic Event Place in Oregun, before the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, had arrived. The men carried cutlasses, cudgels and stones.

TheCable, which had a reporter at the scene and published video of the attack, described the men as suspected thugs of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The APC had not responded publicly at the time of this report, and the claim has not been independently verified.

TheCable’s reporter heard some of the men say in Yoruba that the NDC supporters were few and could be overpowered, and heard others ask their leaders for permission to enter with guns.

Party supporters fought back, throwing chairs and chasing the men out of the hall, Leadership reported. One man, identified in some reports as Ibrahim, was caught and beaten by the crowd; he denied taking part and said he had come to ask for money.

Several people were injured and vehicles were damaged, Channels Television reported. A driver was reportedly stabbed. Police fired into the air on Kudirat Abiola Way to disperse supporters who had spilled onto the road.

The Lagos police command had little to say. “Up till now, at the command level, we don’t have anything,” an official in the police spokesperson’s office told Peoples Gazette.

The attack has drawn swift condemnation with party leaders questioning why peaceful political gatherings continue to face violent intimidation as the country gears up for the 2027 general elections.

Osa Director, the National Publicity Secretary of the NDC, condemned the assault, taking to social media to question the motivation behind the disruption.

“Thugs attacking NDC members in the Town Hall meeting scheduled for Classic Event Centre, Oregun, Lagos,” Director wrote in a post on X. “Why is the ruling party afraid?”

A contested state

Lagos is President Bola Tinubu’s home state and has been run by his party and its forerunners since 1999. But Mr Obi, then of the Labour Party, beat him there in 2023. He polled 582,454 votes to Mr Tinubu’s 572,606, according to official election results. Mr Tinubu carried 11 of the state’s 20 local government areas, and Mr Obi nine.

The APC has made reversing that result a priority. Two days before the attack, its Lagos chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, told The Punch of an Obi victory: “Definitely, that will not happen again.” He did not say what steps the party would take, and said it would rely on its record in government.

In September, the party’s Lagos spokesman, Seye Oladejo, dismissed an NDC prediction that Mr Obi would win the state by a wider margin, though he added that the NDC was free to campaign there.

A pattern

Thursday’s attack is not the first on the NDC’s campaign. Mr Obi’s convoy was attacked in Calabar, Cross River State, last week. On 12 September, gunmen fired on an NDC ward meeting in Enugu State, injuring several people; police later arrested a traditional ruler and a former lawmaker. Six days after that, a rally of Obi and Kwankwaso supporters in Warri, Delta State, was disrupted.

The string of incidents had raised concern about whether parties can campaign freely and supporters take part without intimidation.

The presidential election is scheduled for 16 January 2027.