The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied any involvement in the shooting incident in Edo state, and accused the African Democratic Congress (ADC) of politicising the attack.
On Tuesday, Yunusa Tanko, national coordinator of the Obidient movement, said Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, and some chieftains of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) were attacked in Benin city, Edo state capital.
In a post on X, Tanko said Obi and some ADC chieftains were attacked at the residence of John Odigie-Oyegun, the former Edo state governor.
The ADC claimed, in a statement on Wednesday, that the ruling party was responsible for the incident.
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But in a statement issued on Thursday, Felix Morka, national publicity secretary of the APC, described the ADC’s allegations as baseless and premature.
Morka said accusing the APC before the conclusion of investigations by security agencies shows a disregard for due process.
“Accusing the APC even before any investigation is carried out by law enforcement is particularly senseless, and shows the ADC as a party that lacks focus and without regard for the due process of law,” he said.
Morka added that the opposition party had appointed itself “the accuser, investigator, prosecutor, and judge in its own cause”.
He faulted the ADC’s reference to “cases of acts of terrorism by the ruling APC against our party”, describing the characterisation as reckless.
“This characterization only reveals the ADC and its leaders as a confused bunch, desperate to whip up sentiments and curry public sympathy at all costs,” he said.
The APC spokesperson said violence in the political space must be condemned by all parties.
“Make no mistake, violence of any kind in our political space is unacceptable and must be condemned by all well meaning Nigerians,” he said.
“Our great Party roundly condemns the reported shooting incident in Edo state.
“We call on police and other law enforcement authorities to carry out an expeditious investigation into the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Morka insisted that the APC has no role in the incident and remains focused on governance and recent electoral successes.
“To be clear, the APC has absolutely no role or responsibility in the unfortunate shooting incident,” he said.
“We are too busy taking stock of our recent big wins in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) municipal elections, and the Rivers and Kano states constituency elections to pay any attention to a fringe and inconsequential meeting of ADC political wanderers in Edo state.”
