Get Guardian on GoogleA chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Babatunde Bank-Anthony, has denied allegations linking the ruling party to the disruption of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) town hall meeting in Lagos, describing the incident as an act of intimidation by hoodlums seeking personal gain.
Bank-Anthony said the perpetrators were not necessarily affiliated with any political party, stressing that political violence should not be encouraged or tolerated.
“It is very, very disturbing, to be sincere. What we are seeing now is beyond the political parties.
“We have all these boys and miscreants all over the place. They try to come and intimidate the people for whatever they could get from them,” he said.
The APC chieftain spoke on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Friday, following an attack at Classique Event Centre along Kudirat Abiola Way, Lagos, where preparations were underway for the NDC town hall meeting.
The disruption reportedly caused tension among party supporters and disrupted activities at the venue.
Bank-Anthony also claimed that the APC had experienced similar incidents in other parts of the country, citing an attack on the party in Kaduna, which he said was not publicly reported.
“We suffered a similar kind of attack in Kaduna. We just kept it quiet,” he said.
He, however, maintained that the APC neither supported nor condoned political violence, insisting that the party would not tolerate acts of intimidation against political opponents or other Nigerians.
“We won’t tolerate it, we won’t support it,” he said.
Bank-Anthony called on security agencies, particularly the Nigeria Police Force, to strengthen their response to incidents of political violence, warning that failure to hold perpetrators accountable could worsen the country’s security and political challenges.
He stressed the need for swift intervention and immediate consequences for those involved in such attacks.
“We want police, Nigerian police to be more responsive, because there must be consequences, immediate consequences, otherwise we are not going to get out of this kind of hole we are in at the moment,” he said.
However, an NDC candidate for the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rotimi Obasanjo, accused the APC of using political thuggery to sustain its influence, particularly in Lagos State.
Obasanjo alleged that the ruling party had a history of relying on violence and intimidation to undermine opposition activities.
“APC is a government of thuggery. We know that they rest their democracy, their influence in Nigeria and in particular Lagos on thuggery,” he said.
He maintained that the NDC had anticipated a possible disruption of its town hall meeting and had notified security agencies ahead of the gathering.
Obasanjo also accused the APC of being uncomfortable with the growing activities of opposition parties, alleging that the ruling party was unwilling to allow opposition groups to organise peaceful political events without interference.
“They are not comfortable to see the opposition thriving. They are not, they cannot actually accommodate a peaceful organisation of events without trying to show themselves or trying to show what they are capable of in terms of thuggery and violence,” he said.
The incident has renewed concerns over political violence and the safety of opposition activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
