By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has raised serious concerns over the declaration of a premature curfew in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by the Minister, Nyesom Wike, ahead of Saturday’s area council elections. The party alleges the move is a deliberate attempt to suppress voter turnout.
In a statement released on Friday, the ADC strongly objected to the restriction of movement imposed from 8:00 p.m. on Friday until 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. According to the party, while some restrictions on election day may be justified, the conventional practice is for such measures to commence at midnight on election day, not the evening prior .
The ADC asserted that the government’s decision to impose an early curfew is a blatant move to suppress voter turnout, having realised that it stood no chance in the election. The party insisted that elections must be conducted in an atmosphere that is not only safe but also visibly free and open to all eligible voters .
“We are therefore concerned by the decision of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to impose a curfew on the FCT from 8pm on Friday. The ADC will therefore like to register our strong objections to this premature restriction on movement,” the party stated.
The ADC emphasized that Abuja residents must be able to travel safely to their polling units, remain there until the voting process is concluded, and return home without fear of harassment, obstruction, or arbitrary restriction of movement. This latest objection follows previous criticism by the ADC of what it describes as Wike’s inflammatory rhetoric and attempts to intimidate voters in the lead-up to the election .
The FCT Minister had declared Friday a work-free day and approved the movement restriction from 8:00 p.m. Friday to 6:00 p.m. Saturday, with the aim of strengthening election security. The FCT Police Command also separately announced a 12-hour restriction of movement from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on election day .
The senator representing the FCT, Ireti Kingibe, also faulted the curfew, maintaining that it unnecessarily limits the freedom of residents in a democratic society and questioning its justification given no reported security breaches .
