Thugs Swing Cutlasses, Lawmakers Form a Committee

Suspected thugs armed with cutlasses, cudgels and stones broke up a Nigeria Democratic Congress town hall meeting for presidential candidate Peter Obi in Lagos. Police arrested one suspected attacker, identified only as Ibrahim. The Lagos APC denied sponsoring the attack. That was the trigger. The response from the people at the top: a committee.

Who Has the Power

The House of Representatives has constituted an ad hoc committee to investigate rising political violence ahead of the 2027 general elections, which are next year. The motion came from Minority Leader Fred Agbedi, Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts Bamidele Salam, and 15 other lawmakers. Agbedi cited reported attacks in Enugu, Katsina, Nasarawa, Delta and Cross River states, warning that intimidation, assault and disruption of political activities threatened democratic participation and the credibility of the electoral process.

The committee is chaired by the Majority Leader. The Minority Leader sits as deputy. It includes lawmakers from ruling and opposition parties, so the people whose camps trade accusations of thuggery now sit together to investigate it. It's expected to report within two weeks, due about late November 2026.

Who Gets Crushed

In Gombe State, the campaign convoy of PDP governorship candidate Isa Pantami was attacked on Wednesday, 11 November, two days ago, along Jekadafari Road as he arrived in the state capital. Videos showed armed persons barricading the road with burning tyres. Several vehicles in the convoy reportedly had their windscreens smashed. Amnesty International called it a deliberate attempt to keep the candidate out of the city, with preliminary findings suggesting the attackers were suspected to be working for the APC. Amnesty said it was concerned that no arrests had been made.

The Gombe State Police Command confirmed the attack and said investigations were ongoing. Police spokesperson Buhari Abdullahi said no arrests had been made as of Wednesday and that the command would prosecute anyone found culpable.

In Kaduna, the African Democratic Congress accused the state government of obstructing its political activities after its proposed venue for a consultation between Atiku and Northern stakeholders was reportedly sealed. The meeting was scheduled for Thursday at Arewa House. Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, accused the government of using public authority to frustrate opposition activities. The Kaduna State Government denied sealing Arewa House to prevent the meeting, calling the allegation untrue and an attempt to tarnish Governor Uba Sani's image.

The Courts, the Parties, the Fine Print

The ADC got a certified true copy of a Federal High Court judgement on Wednesday, 11 November, six days after Justice Peter Lifu delivered it in Abuja, about one week ago. The court nullified the emergence of the National Working Committee led by former Senate President David Mark, ruling the process did not comply with the Electoral Act. The judgement also affected decisions taken by that committee, including the process that produced Atiku Abubakar as presidential candidate. Justice Lifu directed INEC to recognise Nafiu Bala Gombe as the only elected member of the party's National Working Committee whose four-year tenure remained valid. The ADC says it has the original resignation letter and, in the words of National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi, will appeal.

So a judge decides who leads a political party. The party appeals to another judge.

Elsewhere, the SDP appointed Yunusa Tanko, a former political adviser to Peter Obi and former National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, as National Coordinator of its 2027 presidential campaign. He resigned as Obi's adviser for Northern Nigeria barely two weeks earlier. At the NDC, Deputy National Publicity Secretary Abdulmumin Abdulsalami resigned, citing alleged injustice, exclusion and interference. National Publicity Secretary Osa Director said one resignation did not indicate divisions.

What They're Calling Order

The APC Presidential Campaign Council, in a Thursday statement signed by spokesman iDele Alake, condemned reported attacks in Edo, Cross River and Gombe states and the Lagos disruption. It called on security agencies to arrest those responsible and urged candidates to avoid inciting violence. NDC National Leader Seriake Dickson alleged in a Thursday Facebook post that unnamed individuals planned to manipulate 2027 election results and deploy fake security personnel to intimidate voters. He named no one, and urged NDC members not to attack or insult opponents.

The Pan-Niger Delta Forum, whose National Chairman is Ambassador Godknows Igali, and the Centre for Democracy and Development warned of growing threats. And the outside referee? EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS Gautier Mignot said sanctioning stakeholders is not the EU's role. The EU is instead supporting civil society organisations to deploy 5,500 observers in 2027.

Observers will watch. Committees will report. Parties will condemn each other, and every statement lands on the same desk: the security agencies, the same apparatus the parties are asking to police their own contest.