The National President of the Niger Delta Youth for Good Governance (NDYFGG), Comrade Lucky O.O. Ukueku, has condemned “in its entirety the brutal and cowardly attack on the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Comrade Omoyele Sowore, in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.”

He said in a statement issued Saturday in Abuja: “We received with rude shock the report that Sowore and his entourage were violently attacked by suspected political thugs at a restaurant in the Dalimore area of Ado-Ekiti, shortly after a radio engagement, leaving him with extensive injuries.

“This is not just an attack on Sowore. It is an attack on democracy, on freedom of association, and on the entire civic space of Nigeria.

“We are deeply worried by the attempt by the Ekiti State Police Command under CP Falade Adegoroye Michael to downplay a coordinated, violent assault as a mere “altercation” with “minor injury”, even after the Commissioner personally visited the scene and saw the injuries firsthand. Such trivialization is despicable and unacceptable in a democracy.”

Ukueku demanded as follows:

1. The Inspector General of Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) must immediately carry out a thorough, transparent and unbiased investigation into the attack, and ensure that all persons involved are identified, arrested and prosecuted without delay. The alleged seizure and suppression of the CCTV footage from the restaurant must not be allowed.

2. The Federal Government must as a matter of urgency provide adequate security cover for all presidential candidates and all contestants across party lines. If a presidential candidate can be attacked in broad daylight in a state capital, then no ordinary Nigerian is safe.

3. Political actors in Ekiti State and across the country must shun politics of thuggery, bitterness and violence as we move towards the 2027 general elections.

Nigeria needs peace. Nigeria needs unity. Nigeria needs safety and security for all. We cannot build a nation where citizens live in fear, where opposing voices are silenced with violence.

“We call for calm among Nigerian youths, but we will not be silent in the face of oppression. An injury to one is an injury to all,” Ukueku said, adding:

“The act must be investigated. The attackers must be brought to book. Nigeria must be safe for everybody.

“No to political thuggery! No to intimidation! Yes to democracy and good governance!”