The African Democratic Congress (ADC) says its Sokoto State governorship candidate was attacked by operatives of the state-owned Sokoto Marshals. It has given the police and other security agencies 24 hours to arrest those responsible.
The ADC Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) said Alhaji Munir Dan Iya was returning to the city along Airport Road on Friday night. He had just accompanied former Sokoto Governor and Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who represents Sokoto South, from the airport. According to the party, armed Marshals then descended on his convoy, damaging several vehicles, including his personal SUV.
The party says the trouble did not end there. It alleges that Marshals have since stationed themselves at some of the historic gates into Sokoto metropolis, stopping motorists and targeting vehicles with ADC posters or party insignia. It also claims two Department of State Services (DSS) personnel attached to Dan Iya were abducted by the Marshals, a claim the party described as “reported” rather than confirmed.
Dan Iya has formally reported the incident to the Sokoto State Commissioner of Police, the party said.
In a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, the ADC-PCC called the attack “state-sponsored thuggery” and “banditry in uniform.” It said it was especially alarmed that a security outfit funded with taxpayers’ money could be “transformed into a political militia” against perceived opponents. It also described the incident as part of a wider pattern of intimidation against opposition figures, pointing to similar incidents in Kaduna and other states a few weeks ago.
The party said it remains committed to peaceful politics and the rule of law, but warned that it will “no longer sit back” while its members and candidates are attacked. “This must be the last time such an attack is allowed to happen,” Ologbondiyan said, adding that the ADC is ready to defend its members “through every legitimate means available.”
The ADC-PCC has asked the Inspector-General of Police, the Sokoto Commissioner of Police and other security and intelligence agencies to investigate, arrest the attackers and secure the release of the two DSS personnel. It said failure to act within 24 hours would leave it no choice but to take “further decisive and lawful steps.”
Neither the Sokoto Marshals nor the police had publicly responded to the allegations at the time of writing, and the claims have not been independently verified.
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