Police seals ADC Party Office [PHOTOS]

Security operatives in Kaduna on Thursday sealed off the state secretariat of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), located at No. 4 Ali Akilu Road, in a move that has sparked tension among opposition figures.

The action came just hours before the North-West leadership of the ADC was due to visit the Kaduna chapter to sympathize with members recently attacked by suspected political thugs. Witnesses reported the heavy deployment of police patrol vans around the building, effectively preventing access to the party’s office.

A senior party member, who spoke under condition of anonymity, confirmed that the visit was meant to console members injured during last week’s attack at a coalition meeting between the ADC and Social Democratic Party (SDP). The meeting, held at the NUT Endwell Conference Hall in Magadishu Layout, was violently disrupted by hoodlums who damaged vehicles, smashed windows, and left several participants wounded.

That incident, which occurred in the presence of armed policemen deployed to stop the gathering, has been linked by opposition figures to escalating political hostilities between former governor Nasir El-Rufai and his successor, Governor Uba Sani.

Court Action Against Police

Amid the growing tension, an ADC chieftain, Yusuf Shehu Bello, has taken the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police to the Federal High Court over alleged restrictions on political meetings.

Through his lawyer, Farouk Dikko, Bello filed an interlocutory injunction seeking to restrain the police from suspending or interfering with lawful gatherings in the state. He argued that the Kaduna command’s recent directive requiring political parties to obtain clearance before holding meetings in public places or hotels was unconstitutional.

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