Suspected political thugs disrupted the planned opening of an African Democratic Congress secretariat on Saturday in Bakassi Local Government Area, Cross Rivers State.
According to reports, the attackers stormed the venue, dispersing party supporters and destroying canopies, loudspeakers, chairs, and other equipment arranged for the ceremony.
A video circulating on social media showed a group of youths forcefully dismantling the setup while shouting that the ADC would not be allowed to operate in the council area.
In the footage, a man believed to be leading the group was heard ordering others to scatter everything as they (ADC) were nowhere to be found when they (APC) were busy fixing the council area.
Confirming the incident, the Cross River State Police Command described the perpetrators as hoodlums and said officers were deployed to restore order.
The command’s spokesman, ASP Sunday Eitokpah, said in a statement released on Sunday that the event was about to commence when “the hoodlums from nowhere came and scattered the canopies, chairs and sound systems.”
He, however, said the situation had been brought under control to prevent snowballing into a full-blown crisis.
“Officers and tactical team are at the scene. The event couldn’t continue again. In such a chaotic situation, and considering the volatile nature of the area, for now, no arrests have been made,” he stated.
It would be recalled that similar situations played out on Tuesday when the party’s activity was disrupted in Calabar.
The disruption led the ADC to raise the alarm over what it described as an attempt to hijack the structure of the party in the state.
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