ADC campaign to police: You can’t arrest hunger by stopping rally
By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA – The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has accused the Kano State Police Command of suppressing dissent after operatives allegedly disrupted a ‘Tinubu Must Go’ rally and arrested the owner of the venue where it was held.
The council said the incident at The Avenue Event Center, Kano, exposed the tension between the government’s democratic claims and citizens’ right to protest, warning that police action could neither silence public frustration nor erase anger over hunger, insecurity and the rising cost of living.
In a statement on Sunday by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, the council said the rally, led by Barrister Abba Hikima and organised by concerned youths, was disrupted when police operatives barricaded the venue and allegedly intimidated participants.
“This is not democracy. This is tyranny. For how long will the APC continue to use the police to suppress dissenting voices?” Ologbondiyan queried.
The ADC-PCC expressed particular outrage over the reported arrest of the event centre owner for allegedly allowing the gathering, questioning why a business owner should face arrest for providing a venue for a peaceful assembly.
“The message from Kano is loud and clear: Nigerians are tired, hungry and angry. You can stop a rally and arrest a venue owner, but you cannot arrest hunger in the land. You cannot barricade the anger and frustration of over 200 million people,” Ologbondiyan said.
The council accused the APC-led government of misdirecting its priorities, arguing that the effort deployed to stop the rally should instead be channelled into tackling insecurity, banditry and the cost-of-living crisis.
“If the APC government had deployed the same energy it used to stop a peaceful rally at The Avenue Event Center to tackle insecurity, banditry and the excruciating cost of living, Nigeria would be a safer and more prosperous nation,” he added.
The ADC-PCC commended Hikima and the participating youths for standing their ground despite the reported police intimidation. It also urged the Inspector-General of Police and the Kano State Police Command to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of the venue owner, if still in custody, and refrain from actions that could turn the police into an instrument of political oppression.
The council further called on civil society organisations, human rights groups and the international community to monitor what it described as an erosion of democratic freedoms.
“The right to protest is not a privilege granted by the police or the APC; it is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. No amount of intimidation will stop Nigerians from demanding change,” the statement said.
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