The key facts

  • The ADC claims the DSS is mobilizing protesters to disrupt the rally in Sokoto
  • Earlier, the party's office was sealed and a gubernatorial candidate's convoy was attacked
  • The police promised to prevent violence but did not answer questions about the safety of opposition figures

Accusations against the security service

The opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) party on Tuesday accused Nigeria's State Security Service (DSS) of preparing to disrupt its pre-election rally in Sokoto State in the country's northwest, scheduled for Wednesday. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the ADC's presidential candidate for the 2027 elections, said the security service is mobilizing protesters to create unrest. According to him, people are gathering near the office behind the Zenith Bank building on Koko Road in Sokoto and are being transported by trucks to key points in the city; some of them, he claimed, are already blocking traffic, threatening drivers and attacking residents. Abubakar saw this as an attempt to create conditions for the state authorities to impose a curfew and ban the rally, calling on the security forces to remain neutral and protect the opposition's right to political activity.

Police response and a series of incidents

Sokoto State police spokesman Ahmad Rufai told the Anadolu Agency that measures would be taken to prevent violence during the rally, but declined to comment on why the police failed to guarantee the safety of opposition politicians and what happened during an earlier attack on the ADC's gubernatorial candidate. The incident in question occurred on October 30: according to the candidate, Munir Muhammad Dan'iya, officers of the Sokoto Marshal and the state's community guard corps blocked his convoy near the Sultan Abubakar III International Airport, fired shots and damaged one of the vehicles. A few days before the planned start of the campaign, the state authorities also sealed the ADC office on Ahmadu Bello Street in the state capital, citing an unresolved property ownership dispute over the building, which previously belonged to the defunct Savannah Bank. Human rights activists called the sealing of the office a blow to democratic freedoms and political pluralism.

Context ahead of the 2027 elections

Opposition figures claim that the authorities of several states are using state institutions and security forces to restrict their activities ahead of the 2027 general elections. Anadolu previously reported an attack on African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore in Ekiti State, which, according to the agency, was carried out by militants suspected of ties to the federal government. All accusations against the security service and the authorities come from the opposition; the publication contains no confirmations or denials from the DSS or the state government.