LAGOS OVEMBER 6TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Amnesty International has condemned Thursday’s attack on the campaign convoy of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.
It was gathered that the attack occurred as the convoy of the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, moved through Kebbi for campaign engagements, barely 24 hours after the party held its presidential campaign flag-off in Sokoto.
In a statement shared on Facebook, Amnesty described the incident as a danger to the rights of opposition parties to hold political activities freely.
The organisation said footage it analysed showed armed gangs carrying weapons, attacking vehicles in the convoy, striking people with cutlasses and blocking roads.
“What happened today (Thursday) is clearly a danger to the rights of opposition political parties to hold their activities freely,” it stated.
Amnesty said apart from direct attacks with knives and machetes, the hoodlums, suspected to be sponsored, pelted vehicles with stones and targeted members of the media crew following the campaign.
Cameras and other gadgets of media teams were destroyed in what the organisation described as a clear attempt to target journalists covering the campaign activities.
“Clearly, a brutal campaign of repression against the opposition and its supporters, is making it extremely difficult for them to exercise their rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly,” Amnesty said.
Members of Atiku’s campaign team said suspected thugs blocked the convoy at different junctions, pelted vehicles with stones and smashed cameras, video equipment, tripods and other working tools, leaving the crew unable to continue live coverage.
“The thugs did not come to steal. They came to destroy. They targeted our cameras and video crew because they did not want Nigerians to see what is happening here in Kebbi,” a member of the campaign team said.
Amnesty said the Kebbi incident, coming days after similar bloody attacks on ADC campaigns in neighbouring Sokoto State, is part of a troubling pattern of brutal attacks targeting opposition members across the country.
In Sokoto, at least two persons believed to be ADC supporters were allegedly shot along the Wurno-Sokoto Road on Wednesday, while several vehicles conveying supporters to the party’s presidential campaign rally were reportedly attacked in Tambuwal Local Government Area.
“No one should lose their life or face violence simply for taking part in peaceful political activities,” Amnesty said.
The organisation accused Nigerian authorities of failing to ensure accountability for similar atrocities in Niger, Kaduna, Edo and Enugu states.
It said, “In all cases investigated by Amnesty International security agencies failed to do their job of preventing or stopping the attacks to protect the right to freedom of association.
“The ongoing political repression targeting opposition parties nationwide undermines democracy and creates a toxic climate of fear and violence.”
The Kebbi attack also came a day after the convoy of another opposition presidential candidate, Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), was attacked in Calabar, Cross River State, where police confirmed the arrest of a suspect.
The Sun-Nigeria
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