Allegations of electoral manipulation reportedly marred the African Democratic Congress (ADC) senatorial primary election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as a leading aspirant, Dr. Mubarak Ahmad Tijani, accused supporters loyal to Senator Ireti Kingibe of orchestrating an attack against him and his supporters.
The disturbing incident, according to findings, occurred after party members allegedly discovered that results of the primary election were being collated at a private office reportedly linked to Senator Kingibe, despite claims that voting had not been properly conducted across designated centres.
Eyewitness accounts obtained by our correspondent revealed that tension began to rise when supporters of Tijani questioned the legitimacy of the exercise after waiting for several hours without any formal electoral process taking place.
Party members loyal to Tijani reportedly stormed the location where the alleged collation was taking place in a bid to “defend their mandate” and demand transparency from party officials.
However, what was expected to be a peaceful protest allegedly degenerated into violence.
Sources within the party claimed that Tijani’s supporters were ambushed immediately they arrived at the premises.
“We were locked inside the office and attacked by supporters and loyalists of Senator Kingibe,” the party source alleged.
Another party member described the situation as “a coordinated attempt to intimidate opposition voices within the party.”
Speaking after the incident, a visibly aggrieved Dr. Tijani, who was rushed to the hospital as a result of the attack, accused certain forces within the ADC of attempting to impose fabricated results on party members.
He said: “We are filing a formal report to reject this primary election because what happened was not democracy.
“I honestly do not understand what is happening. We gathered everybody, our supporters, party members and followers — and they stayed under the sun from 9 a.m. till 6 p.m., yet elections were not conducted.”
“To our greatest surprise, fake results were being collated at one of the aspirants’ offices.”
Tijani further stated that his decision to confront the situation was borne out of his commitment to due process and internal democracy within the ADC.
“I happen to be a senatorial aspirant and I went there to defend my mandate as a party member and as somebody who respects the law. Unfortunately, this is what came out of it,” he lamented.
Several supporters were also physically assaulted during the chaos.
As of the time of filing this report, Senator Ireti Kingibe and her camp had not officially responded to the allegations.
The controversy has, however, triggered outrage among sections of the party, with supporters of Tijani calling on the national leadership of the ADC to immediately cancel the exercise and launch an independent investigation into the conduct of the primary.
They also appealed to security agencies to intervene and ensure that those allegedly responsible for the violence are identified and prosecuted.
In a passionate appeal to party faithful, Tijani urged ADC members and democracy advocates not to remain silent.
“We are calling on every supporter and member of ADC to come out and fight for democracy and ensure that they defend the integrity of our dear party,” he said.
