The National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Seriake Dickson, has called for an emergency all-party summit over the rising attacks targeting NDC candidates and supporters ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Dickson made the call in a statement on Sunday, warning that if the situation is not urgently addressed, it could threaten the peaceful conduct of the 2027 polls.
He called on the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, the General Abdulsalami Abubakar-led National Peace Committee, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and security agencies to urgently convene the summit.
According to him, the attacks on NDC members have become too frequent and too dangerous to ignore.
Dickson said the latest attack was the invasion of the NDC Lagos town hall meeting at the Classique Event Centre in Oregun, Ikeja, where suspected thugs armed with cutlasses, sticks and stones stormed the venue and forced participants to run for safety.
He said the meeting had the NDC presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and the party’s Lagos governorship candidate, Funso Doherty, in attendance.
The NDC leader said the party will not be intimidated, but Nigeria cannot go into 2027 with candidates and supporters living in fear.
He urged IPAC, the Peace Committee, INEC and security agencies to bring all political parties together, agree on rules of engagement and hold anyone who sponsors violence accountable.
“Nigerians deserve an election where everybody can campaign freely without fear of attack. If we do not act now, we are putting the 2027 elections in danger,” Dickson said.
He also called on the police and other security agencies to arrest and prosecute those behind the Lagos attack and other recent attacks on NDC members across the country.