Mr. Ladipo Johnson, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for the Lagos Central Senatorial District, has strongly condemned the violent disruption of the party’s town hall meeting in Lagos, describing the assault on party faithful as “cowardly, premeditated and unprovoked”.
In a formal statement issued in Lagos on Friday, November 13, 2026, Johnson warned that political thuggery and voter intimidation pose a grave threat to Nigeria’s democracy ahead of the 2027 general elections.
His remarks came less than 24 hours after armed hoodlums invaded an NDC engagement in the state capital, attempting to scatter party supporters who had gathered for a peaceful civic dialogue.
The incident unfolded during the day on Thursday, November 12, 2026, at the party’s town hall venue in Ikeja, Lagos State.
According to eyewitness accounts and party officials, scores of suspected political thugs stormed the Ikeja venue while members were assembling, firing gunshots into the air and launching attacks on attendees in an effort to violently disperse the gathering.
Rather than fleeing, NDC members and supporters stood their ground to repel the assailants, eventually overpowering the attackers and handing over at least one apprehended suspect to security operatives.
Reacting to the incident on Friday, Johnson maintained that desperate attempts to silence opposition voices through violence would only strengthen the resolve of the NDC and Lagos residents demanding credible leadership.
His condemnation followed a significant legal victory on Thursday, November 12, in which Panel 1 of the Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed a suit challenging his senatorial candidacy, a ruling communicated to the press by Tosin Aina, a spokesperson for the Media and Publicity Directorate of Team Ladipo Johnson for Lagos Central.
Prominent party leaders who were on the ground during Thursday’s town hall also spoke out against the violence. The NDC’s Lagos State governorship candidate, Mr. Funso Doherty, alongside his running mate, Tolani Animashaun, and the party’s presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, condemned the invasion of the Ikeja venue.
Addressing supporters after order was restored, Doherty noted that the attackers had miscalculated by assuming they could intimidate the crowd into fleeing, asserting that the determination of Lagos residents to defend their political participation remains unbroken.
Similarly, Obi emphasized that the gathering was a peaceful town hall designed to listen to citizens’ ideas, insisting that political violence would neither deter the party nor derail its preparations for the 2027 polls.
The NDC leadership has since called on the Nigeria Police Force and relevant security agencies to launch a thorough investigation into the Ikeja attack, prosecute the arrested suspect, and bring both the perpetrators and their sponsors to justice to guarantee a peaceful campaign environment across Lagos State.
