The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State are trading accusations over an alleged attack on supporters of the opposition party at a toll gate in the state.
The incident occurred on Tuesday when supporters of the ADC governorship candidate, Isa Ashiru, gathered to welcome him back to Kaduna following his two-week Lesser Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
Some vehicles belonging to the supporters were reportedly vandalised during the incident, while mobile phones were allegedly stolen from some of the victims.
Speaking to Daily Trust, Dr. Ilesha Paul, chairman of the Ashiru Support Group (ATISAH), said he was among those whose vehicles were damaged.
He explained that supporters had converged from different parts of the state to welcome Ashiru and escort him home when they were set upon.
‘We are not at war. Our members came from Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone 3, which meant it was a major rally just to receive our governorship candidate. Please, we are in politics, not war. It was really unfortunate,’ he said.
Paul stressed that the supporters were unarmed and had no intention of engaging anyone in a confrontation.
‘We don’t have weapons because we did not go there to fight. We went there simply to welcome our candidate, Ashiru,’ he said, adding that his mobile phone was also taken during the attack.
It was further alleged that the attackers-mostly youths and teenagers-pelted the supporters with stones and vandalised their vehicles.
However, the APC State Secretary, Mohammed Sani Haruna, offered a contrasting account, claiming that APC supporters were the ones attacked at the toll gate. He accused the ADC of attempting to twist the narrative surrounding the violence.
‘I reached out to the people there and we discovered it was our people that were attacked. In fact, we were the ones who suffered damage,’ Haruna said.
He noted that the APC was actively working to de-escalate tension and prevent the situation from worsening.
‘Our people came out for a peaceful rally at the toll gate but were attacked. So we cannot call it a clash, because our people came out for a peaceful rally but were attacked,’ he said, maintaining that the party was not interested in escalating the matter despite the destruction of property.
‘We are dousing tension now to avoid escalation,’ he added.
Countering the APC’s stance, Ashiru’s spokesman, Abdulwaheed Olayinka Adubi, confirmed the attack and insisted that ADC members were the true victims.
‘Our people were attacked and their vehicles were damaged. We saw those who attacked us. They were inside a fully branded Hilux vehicle with ‘Renewed Agenda’ written on it and an 18-seater bus carrying fully armed youths,’ he said.
Adubi said the ADC strongly condemned the assault on supporters who had merely gathered to welcome their governorship candidate.
In a separate statement, Ashiru described the alleged attack as unacceptable and warned against allowing political differences to degenerate into violence.
‘Enough is enough. Kaduna belongs to all of us, and no political party has the right to prevent citizens from supporting the candidate or party of their choice,’ he said.
Ashiru called on the Kaduna State Government and the APC leadership to ensure that all political parties and their supporters are allowed to carry out legitimate activities without intimidation.
He also urged security agencies to investigate the incident thoroughly and prosecute anyone found culpable, regardless of political affiliation.
The ADC flagbearer appealed to his supporters to remain peaceful and law-abiding, assuring them that the party would pursue its goals through constitutional avenues.
‘We will not be intimidated, and we will not be provoked into violence. Our response will remain the ballot, the issues, and the people. Kaduna deserves a peaceful, competitive, and credible democratic process,’ he said.