PRESS STATEMENT
Asaba, Delta State | Saturday, 7th November, 2026
NDC CONDEMNS IN STRONGEST TERMS THE PREMEDITATED, FELONIOUS ATTACK ON ITS SUPPORTERS DURING THE ONE MILLION MAN MARCH IN ASABA; DEMANDS IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION, ARREST AND PROSECUTION OF PERPETRATORS
The Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) wishes to place it on record, in the strongest possible terms, its total condemnation of the dastardly, barbaric and cowardly attack unleashed on its members, supporters and innocent Deltans during our peaceful One Million Man March in Asaba on Saturday.
What began as a lawful, orderly and carnival-like exercise of our constitutional right to freedom of assembly, association and political participation, as guaranteed under Sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Section 92 of the Electoral Act, 2022, was violently disrupted by armed hoodlums wielding sticks, knives, machetes and other dangerous weapons.
Dozens of our campaign vehicles were vandalised and destroyed. Several party faithful sustained varying degrees of injuries from knife and machete attacks and are currently receiving medical attention in hospitals across the state. We pray for their speedy recovery and assure them that the party stands firmly with them.
Let it be stated unequivocally: This was not a clash. This was not a misunderstanding. This was a premeditated, unprovoked and criminal assault on democracy itself.
AN ACT OF DESPERATION BORN OUT OF PANIC
The unprecedented solidarity, massive turnout and organic enthusiasm displayed by NDC supporters and Deltans from across the 25 Local Government Areas during the march has clearly sent shockwaves through the opposition camp.
Unable to match our ideas, our message and our momentum at the ballot box, they have resorted to the crudest weapon of the politically bankrupt: violence.
They have failed. Woefully failed.
No amount of intimidation, thuggery or bloodletting can stop a movement whose time has come. The will of the people cannot be macheted into submission. The march continued. The spirit remained unbroken. The message resonated louder than their violence.
OUR DEMANDS
In line with the rule of law and the principles of democratic accountability, the NDC hereby demands:
- Immediate Investigation: We call on His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Delta State, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, as the Chief Security Officer of the State, to order a full-scale, transparent and unbiased investigation into this attack.
- Arrest and Prosecution: We call on the Inspector-General of Police and all relevant security agencies, including the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), to immediately apprehend the perpetrators, their sponsors and their financiers, and ensure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for attempted murder, grievous bodily harm, malicious damage to property, unlawful assembly, and conduct likely to cause breach of the peace.
- Protection of All Political Actors: We remind security agencies of their constitutional duty under Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. Every political party, whether in government or opposition, has an inalienable right to campaign freely without intimidation, harassment or fear of attack.
A STERN WARNING TO PERPETRATORS AND THEIR SPONSORS
To those who carried out this heinous act and those who sent them, hear this loud and clear:
Your actions will not go unpunished.
There is no statute of limitations on criminality. There is no hiding place for political thuggery in a constitutional democracy. We will pursue every legal avenue, local and international, to ensure that justice is served. We will document, we will petition, we will litigate, and we will not rest until every hand that lifted a machete against an innocent Nigerian answers for it.
Nigeria is not a banana republic. Delta State is not a lawless society. We will not allow our nascent democracy to be dragged back to the dark days where elections were won through bloodshed and ballot-box brigandage.
Violence is the last refuge of those who have already lost the argument. And in this contest, you have already lost.
A CALL FOR PEACE
Despite this provocation, the NDC remains committed to issue-based, peaceful and people-centred campaigns. We urge our teeming supporters to remain calm, law-abiding and resolute. Do not retaliate. Do not be provoked. Let our response be at the polling unit, with our Permanent Voter Cards, with our voices, and with our votes.
We also call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), civil society organisations, the media, religious leaders and the international community to take note of this dangerous descent into political violence and to hold all actors accountable.
Democracy thrives where dissent is tolerated and opposition is protected. Any attack on one party is an attack on all parties and on democracy itself.
The march has ended, but the movement has only just begun.
Signed:
Director, Media & Publicity
Ochei Media Team