The key facts

  • Armed men attacked a rally of NDC candidate Peter Obi in Lagos two months before the 16 January 2027 election
  • Police arrived more than an hour later; a TheCable journalist had his equipment smashed and seized
  • The NDC accuses the ruling APC of pressure, including the disruption of other rallies; APC denies the accusations

Attack on a rally in Lagos

On Thursday, a group of armed men, according to eyewitnesses, stormed an events centre in Lagos with axes, clubs and machetes, where a rally of Nigerian opposition presidential candidate Peter Obi of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) was taking place. The attackers targeted the candidate's supporters and journalists. The incident happened in mid-morning and was caught on video circulated on social media — two months before the presidential election scheduled for 16 January 2027.

Street fights and a late police response

Eyewitnesses said the attackers 'burst into the hall, smashed all the entrance doors and glass walls'. NDC supporters repelled the attack and pushed the attackers outside, after which the two groups fought in the streets for more than an hour. Police arrived only after more than an hour and began dispersing participants with tear gas. Security personnel on the scene explained that they had not been guarding the event because they had not been notified of it in advance.

Attack on a journalist

A local journalist was also hurt: Sam Adebayo of the online outlet TheCable said he was struck with an axe, beaten with fists and kicked, and then had all his equipment taken from him. 'I tried to resist, and they started attacking me,' he said. 'In the end I handed over my gear when one of them kept shouting: