Ireti Kingibe, the Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and several party officials were recently targeted in a brutal assault during the National Assembly primary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Abuja.
The lawmaker publicly named political thugs as the orchestrators of the violence, describing the harrowing incident as a “premeditated ambush” while sending out a stern warning that political thuggery must not be allowed to replace democracy.
According to a detailed public account shared by the lawmaker over the weekend, the chaos broke out on Thursday at the ADC State Secretariat located in the Gudu district of the nation’s capital.
Senator Kingibe had visited the political venue to monitor how election materials were being sorted and distributed for the party’s legislative primary contest.
While the administrative process began under a calm atmosphere, things quickly fell apart when a politician identified as Tijani Mubarak arrived at the scene accompanied by a group of aggressive men.
The situation rapidly spiraled out of control when the leadership of the electoral committee tried to address the arriving team. Explaining the immediate spark of the confrontation, Kingibe noted that “the moment he introduced himself, the Chairman asked if he was the individual who had been calling earlier in the day.
Instantly, Mubarak became aggressively rude.” The administrative friction turned physical within moments as the primary election committee head refused to tolerate the rowdy behavior, which allegedly provoked the gang into launching an immediate physical assault. The lawmaker stated that “he violently slapped the Chairman of the Committee.”
As the violent scene unfolded inside the secretariat office, an internal attempt to document the breakdown of order was also met with force. A female politician seeking an legislative ticket tried to film the altercation with her mobile device but was quickly overpowered by the aggressive group.
The Senator claimed that “infuriated by this, Mubarak ordered his thugs to seize her phone,” noting that the female aspirant was severely manhandled during the scuffle as the device was forcefully grabbed from her hands.
The physical violence eventually reached the lawmaker herself as the thugs began dominating the administrative room. Recounting her own direct ordeal during the crisis, Kingibe stated that “one of Mubarak’s men turned on me… grabbed me, and flung me violently against the wall, hitting my head with severe force.”
To prevent any immediate rescue or intervention from outsiders, the invading group blocked all exit routes and locked the internal stakeholders inside the secretariat room. The lawmaker explained that “realising he was losing control of the room, Mubarak ran to the exit door, locked it, and trapped us inside with himself and his armed thugs.”
The trapped party officials and the Senator were only freed after an intense confrontation broke out on the building’s exterior. Outside supporters noticed the danger, launched a counter-offensive to breach the barricaded entrance, and successfully rescued the injured occupants.
Following her rescue from the compound, Kingibe was rushed to a medical facility to treat severe symptoms including blurred vision and intense migraines, where medical doctors later confirmed she had sustained acute head trauma from the impact against the wall.
The FCT representative has already escalated the matter to both party authorities and federal law enforcement, filing a criminal complaint at the Apo Police Division in Abuja.
Demanding immediate state action against the perpetrators, she issued a strong appeal to top security chiefs, stating, “I call upon the Inspector General of Police and the FCT Police Commissioner to immediately order the arrest, thorough investigation, and swift prosecution.”
Kingibe also heavily criticized the rising trend of targeted hostility against female politicians, asserting that “the barbaric manhandling of a female aspirant and the physical assault on my person will not be swept under the carpet.” Despite the severity of her head injuries, the lawmaker maintained that she remains “unbowed” by the intimidation.
