Hoodlums on Saturday disrupted the planned opening of a secretariat of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State. The youths, who in a viral video claimed allegiance to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), attacked ADC members and vowed that the opposition party would not be allowed to hold public events in the area. The incident occurred at the venue where the ADC had planned to inaugurate its new secretariat. SPONSOR AD Members of the party had earlier erected canopies, mounted loudspeakers and arranged chairs and tables in preparation for the ceremony. However, the youths stormed the venue, dispersed party supporters and those setting up the event, and destroyed some of the equipment, including loudspeakers, chairs and tables. A leader of the group, whose face was not clearly captured in the video, was heard saying that the APC would not allow the ADC to operate in the local government area. Reacting to the development, the ADC governorship candidate in the 2023 election, Dr Effiong Nyong, described the attack as unfortunate and blamed it on fear of opposition. “It is a very sad development coming out of Cross River State, but it goes to show the extent to which poverty has been weaponised. How do you categorise a hungry and cheated man shouting that there should be no opposition to the APC? “It is sad that young people are being misguided by their oppressors to continue supporting their own impoverishment in a wanton show of shame. “For me and the ADC, we will continue to educate the people who are currently blinded by hunger,” he said. Nyong called on opposition figures in the state to unite and rescue the state from what he described as a government lacking capacity and vision. He also urged the state government to prove it had no hand in the incident by ensuring that those responsible for the violence are arrested and prosecuted. Confirming the incident, the Cross River State Police Command described the attackers as hoodlums. The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Eitokpah Sunday, said, “The hoodlums came from nowhere and scattered the canopies, chairs and sound systems. However, the situation has been brought under control to prevent it from snowballing into a full-blown crisis.” He added that no arrest had been made as of the time of filing this report, but officers and members of the tactical team had been deployed to the area. “In such a chaotic situation and considering the volatile nature of the area, no arrest was made immediately to avoid escalating the crisis,” he said, noting that the event could no longer continue. Efforts to reach the newly elected APC state chairman, Christopher Etta, for comment were unsuccessful.