ADC leaders prime suspects in attack on Obi, Oyegun, says APC

2026-02-26 - 15:07

By Omeiza Ajayi ABUJA: The ruling All Progressives Congress APC has fired back at the African Democratic Congress ADC following allegations regarding a shooting incident in Edo State, labeling the opposition party its own “nemesis” and declaring that its own leadership should be treated as the primary suspects in the attack. In a statement on Thursday, National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka described the ADC as a party “doing a good job crippling itself even before it has time to stand on its feet”. The ruling party dismissed claims that it was responsible for the violence, calling such accusations “utterly delusional” and “senseless”. The APC contended that the investigation into the shooting, which involved high-profile figures, should begin with a “thorough scrutiny of the ADC, its leaders and members as prime suspects”. Morka argued that the party is currently “overrun by internal leadership and cult-like supremacy struggles,” pointing toward “widely reported violent clashes and confrontations among its factional leaders” as a more likely cause for the unrest. “The ADC cannot smear our great Party with a violent incident of its own exclusive making,” Morka stated, adding that the APC has “absolutely no role or responsibility” in the matter. The ruling party described ADC’s leaders as “insufferable jesters” who “weaponize dark humour as a strategy to deceive, distract and disrupt in desperation for public sympathy”. It slammed the ADC’s rhetoric regarding “acts of terrorism” as reckless and insensitive to the “patriotic sacrifices of our troops in the frontlines”. Morka questioned the competence of the opposition, asking how a party that cannot manage a single incident with maturity could “be trusted to manage the complexities of Nigeria’s security environment”. Dismissing the ADC as a “fringe and inconsequential” group of “political wanderers,” the APC maintained that it is currently too occupied celebrating its own electoral successes to pay them any mind. “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,” the statement read. The party attributed these victories to a “vote of confidence” in the leadership of President Bola Tinubu. While roundly condemning the violence in Edo State, the APC called on law enforcement to carry out an “expeditious investigation” to bring the true perpetrators to justice, while urging the ADC to reflect on its “dismal and disgraceful performance” in recent by-elections.