By Onuminya Yusuf, Sokoto
Kebbi State chapter of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, government of deploying state institutions to intimidate opposition leaders ahead of the 2027 general elections, insisting that the prosecution of former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, is politically motivated.
In a statement jointly signed by the State Chairman, Engr. Sufiyanu Bala, and the Chairman of the ADC Elders Forum, Alh. Shehu Aliyu Sambawa, and made available to journalists in Birnin Kebbi on Sunday evening, the party said it was not opposed to lawful investigation but condemned what it described as “Gestapo methods” of muzzling opposition voices across the country.
The ADC leadership declared that no amount of “political persecution, suppression, blackmail or intimidation” would derail its resolve to unseat the APC government in 2027. The party said its eyes remain fixed on what it called “the big goal” of defeating the ruling party at the polls.
According to the statement, the fundamental objective of the APC at local, state and national levels in the build-up to 2027 is to make opposition politics unattractive at best, and unbearable at worst. The party argued that Nigerians have already rejected the APC because of anti-people policies and programmes.
“We wish to inform all and sundry that no amount of political persecution will take our minds and eyes away from the big goal, that is, to defeat the discredited APC Government at the polls come the 2027 General Elections,” the statement read.
The ADC further alleged that the misuse of anti-graft agencies and the “weaponization of a section of the court system” have alienated Nigerians from the APC. It expressed optimism that the ruling party would be consigned to history by noon on election day in 2027, “In Sha Allah.”
On the case involving Malami, who served as AGF and Minister of Justice for eight years, the Kebbi ADC said the sequence of petition, investigation, arrest, detention and prosecution showed the matter was “primarily dictated, designed and orchestrated to achieve a predetermined goal.”
The party questioned the decision to arrest and detain a prominent citizen over what it termed a bailable offence, as well as the search of his properties in his absence and the alleged overvaluation of family assets. It said the move fits the proverb of “giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it.”
The statement also faulted the list of estates linked to the former minister, saying it presupposes that Malami was “an only child, born into a family riddled by abject poverty and that he was unemployed” before his appointment in 2015. The ADC maintained that prosecutors do not have the final say and expressed confidence that appellate courts would do justice.
Reaffirming its loyalty, the Kebbi ADC said all members of the party in the state stand solidly behind Malami as the party leader and governorship candidate “come rain or shine.” It added that blackmail, harassment, name-calling and media trial would not truncate its commitment to join other Nigerians to vote out the APC.
The party said the travails being faced by ADC leaders and members nationwide were part of the sacrifices required to “uproot dictatorship from mismanaging the affairs of our beloved nation,” stressing: “It is a truth at a time.”
