Sowore Targeted: AAC Alarms Over Assassination Attempt at Democracy Day Protest

The African Action Congress (AAC) has voiced serious alarm regarding a brutal attack on its presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, during the June 12 Democracy Day protest in Abuja. The demonstration, organized by the Take-It-Back Movement and other civil society groups, reportedly saw operatives of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) deploy an unknown aerosol-based chemical directly into Sowore’s face. This incident caused him to collapse and temporarily lose consciousness, raising significant concerns about the increasing use of violent and repressive tactics against opposition figures in Nigeria.

In a statement issued by Rex I. Elanu, the National Publicity Secretary of AAC, the party highlighted a disturbing pattern of actions targeting Sowore since 2016. The AAC emphasized the urgent need for the international community and democratic governments worldwide to acknowledge and act swiftly to prevent further violence against their presidential candidate.

The party drew a parallel to the tragic case of Chuba Okadigbo, a prominent critic of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who died days after being exposed to tear gas at an opposition rally in Kano in 2003. While the exact circumstances of Okadigbo's death remain controversial, the AAC views it as a stark reminder of the perils faced by opposition figures in an environment of political intolerance.

The AAC unequivocally condemned what it perceives as Nigeria's regression to an era where critics of the government are intimidated, brutalized, persecuted, or even eliminated. The pattern of targeting Sowore, as detailed by the AAC, includes an attack by a political thug after establishing the SaharaReporters Media Lab in Ikeja, multiple documented assaults by the NPF, the invasion of a Federal High Court courtroom in Abuja by the Department of State Services (DSS) to abduct him during a live proceeding, his nose being broken in a 2021 attack, and a police officer shooting him in the thigh with a riot gun. Furthermore, his younger brother's death under suspicious circumstances near Benin City is also regarded by many as resembling an assassination.

Having failed to incapacitate Sowore through physical means, the government has reportedly resorted to