Abubakar alleges a possible plan to disrupt opposition rally in Nigeria — Anadolu Agency

Nigeria’s opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the State Security Service of allegedly preparing to disrupt an election rally in the city of Sokoto. As Anadolu Agency reports, former vice president of the country and ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar made the statement on November 4.

Opposition statement

According to Abubakar, the State Security Service, also known as the Department of State Services, allegedly mobilized protesters ahead of the rally scheduled for Wednesday. He claimed that people were gathering at an office behind Zenith Bank on Koko Road, after which they were transported by trucks to different parts of the city.

Abubakar also said that some of these people began blocking traffic, threatening drivers, and attacking residents. In his view, the purpose of such actions may have been to create grounds for the state authorities to impose a curfew and prevent the rally from taking place. The politician called on security agencies to remain neutral and guarantee opposition parties the right to organize political events.

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Previous incidents

Sokoto State police spokesperson Ahmad Rufai said that law enforcement officers would try to prevent violence during the ADC event. At the same time, he declined to comment on reports of an earlier attack on the party’s gubernatorial candidate and on the security of opposition figures in the state.

On October 30, ADC gubernatorial candidate Manir Muhammad Dan'iya said that near Sultan Abubakar III International Airport, officers from Sokoto Marshal and the State Community Guard Corps blocked his convoy, fired shots, and damaged one vehicle. State authorities also sealed the ADC campaign office on Ahmadu Bello Road several days before the planned start of the party’s campaign. They explained this by an unresolved ownership issue involving the building, which had previously belonged to the defunct Savannah Bank.