The Nigeria Democratic Congress and the All Progressives Congress have traded blames over the attack on NDC supporters by suspected political thugs during a town hall meeting in Ikeja, Lagos State.

While the NDC accused the ruling party of promoting political violence and attempting to undermine democracy, the APC dismissed the allegation, urging the opposition party to address its internal problems.

The clash followed Thursday’s disruption of an NDC town hall meeting in Ikeja, where hoodlums armed with cutlasses, cudgels and stones reportedly invaded the venue, scattered chairs and forced participants to flee.

The incident triggered a confrontation between the attackers and some NDC supporters, who reportedly resisted the invasion by throwing chairs at the hoodlums.

Some supporters later pursued the fleeing attackers and apprehended one of them at a car park.

 A video of the incident showed some young men surrounding the suspect and hitting him with sticks.

The violence subsequently spilt onto Kudirat Abiola Way, disrupting movement along the road, while policemen reportedly fired shots into the air to disperse the crowd.

Reacting to the incident, the NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, described the attack as unfortunate and unwarranted.

In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, Director accused the APC of resorting to what he called barbaric politics.

“The attacks perpetrated against our members in Lagos State are unfortunate and unwarranted. 

“The hard-earned, ruinous APC is planning to destroy our hard-earned democracy by their desperation and demonic politics of barbarism,” he said.

Similarly, the NDC Campaign Council spokesperson, Dr Constance Ikokwu, condemned the reported attack, describing it as an assault on democracy and citizens’ rights to political association.

She said, “We strongly condemn the reported violent attack on its supporters in Lagos by suspected political thugs. 

“This is an unacceptable assault on democracy, citizens’ fundamental rights and the freedom of political association. No political party or group has a monopoly on Nigeria, and no one has the right to use violence, intimidation or thuggery to silence opposing voices.

“Nigeria is not a conquered territory, and political participation is not a crime. We demand an immediate investigation, the arrest and prosecution of those responsible, and an end to the dangerous culture of the political violence we’re witnessing in some states. 

“Those who believe they can intimidate Nigerians into silence must understand that democracy belongs to the people, not to political thugs and their sponsors.

“We urge Nigerians to come out in large numbers in 2027, exercise their democratic rights and vote for the NDC as part of the peaceful demand for accountable leadership and a different direction for our country. The NDC and its supporters will not be intimidated, silenced or bullied out of exercising their democratic rights.”

But the former Lagos APC spokesman, Seye Oladejo, denied any involvement by his party, saying the allegation was being made on a day the APC was holding its campaign in Epe.

Oladejo told our correspdent that the ruling party was too occupied with its political activities to be distracted by the accusations, adding that the NDC should look into its internal affairs.

He said, “The first thing to note is that this allegation is coming on a day we are formally having our campaign in Epe. And Epe is very far away from Ikeja. Everybody who is anybody was there – members, all our candidates, the sitting governor.

“So, we are too busy to be distracted. The APC and the NDC are not the only parties in the elections. And we are the biggest stakeholders in this Lagos and, in fact, Nigeria.

“If they are having issues, they should look within their party. They cannot continue to be blaming the APC for everything that happens in the NDC. They should get serious in the business of opposition. There is nothing to prove that the APC is involved in this. So, they should look inward at the enemies within their party.”

The identities of the attackers, their alleged sponsors and the circumstances surrounding the incident had not been independently established as of the time of filing this report.