THE governing All Progressives Congress has denied involvement in alleged assassination attempt of former Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi and former Edo State Governor, Odigie-Oyegun.

Both are chieftains of the African Democratic Congress.

Suspected political thugs were reported to have stormed the ADC secretariat in Benin, Edo State capital, destroying facilities and injuring party members. They later moved to the Benin GRA residence of Chief Oyegun, where they shot sporadically and destroyed many vehicles.

Responding to allegations that the APC was mastermind of the attacks, its National Publicity Secretary, Barrister Felix Morka, accused the opposition party of jumping to conclusion before police investigation.

The APC, however, insisted that the police “investigation of this incident should begin with a thorough scrutiny of the ADC, its leaders and members as prime suspects.”

Its statement read: “The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is, undoubtedly, its own nemesis. It needs no external help to achieve its political demise. The party is doing a good job crippling itself even before it has time to stand on its feet.

“The ADC and its leaders are insufferable jesters. They weaponise dark humour as a strategy to deceive, distract and disrupt in desperation for public sympathy.

“In its press statement of February 25, 2026, the ADC claimed that the APC was responsible for the shooting incident involving its members in Edo State. That is utterly delusional. Accusing the APC even before any investigation is carried out by law enforcement is particularly senseless, and shows the ADC as a party that lacks focus and without regard for the due process of law. By its baseless conclusion, the party has declared itself to be the accuser, investigator, prosecutor, and judge in its own cause.

“Nigerians must wonder how a party that cannot manage a single incident with proper guidance, maturity, and in line with legal and constitutional process can be trusted to manage the complexities of Nigeria’s security environment.

“The ADC’s reference to “cases of acts of terrorism by the ruling APC against our party’, in its presser, is reckless and unjustifiable. This characterisation only reveals the ADC and its leaders as a confused bunch, desperate to whip up sentiments and curry public sympathy at all costs. Its flippant accusation clearly shows that the ADC is out of touch with the prevailing realities of the country’s war on terror, and insensitive to the patriotic sacrifices of our troops in the frontlines in defence of our lives and liberty.

“Make no mistake, violence of any kind in our political space is unacceptable and must be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians. Our great Party roundly condemns the reported shooting incident in Edo State. We call on police and other law enforcement authorities to carry out an expeditious investigation into the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.

“Investigation of this incident should begin with a thorough scrutiny of the ADC, its leaders and members as prime suspects. As a party of leaders without members, the ADC is overrun by internal leadership and cult-like supremacy struggles. Among other leads, law enforcement investigation should focus on widely reported violent clashes and confrontations among its factional leaders over control and access to certain meetings of the party. The ADC cannot smear our great Party with a violent incident of its own exclusive making.

“To be clear, the APC has absolutely no role or responsibility in the unfortunate shooting incident. 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 to pay any attention to a fringe and inconsequential meeting of ADC political wanderers in Edo state. The ADC should be just as busy trying to fathom its back-to-back dismal and disgraceful performance in previous and recent by-elections in the country despite its nuisance rants.

“We are grateful to Nigerians for the solid and growing support of our great Party. We particularly appreciate the electorate in the FCT, Kano and Rivers states for their eloquent vote of confidence in our Party, and in the visionary and transformative leadership of President Bola Tinubu, GCFR.

“Our Party and Mr President remain focused on building a stronger, more resilient and prosperous country for the good of all Nigerians.” (Nigerian Tribune)

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