The Kogi State APC Governorship Campaign Council has launched a scathing critique against the Social Democratic Party (SDP), alleging that the opposition party has revealed its own transgressions against democracy.

In a press statement released on Tuesday, the APC Campaign Council expressed concern over what it perceives as the SDP’s desperation to portray Kogi State as unsafe. Kingsley Fanwo, the spokesperson for the Campaign Council, asserted that the SDP was attempting to divert attention from its exposed plans to file petitions through the backdoor.

The statement claimed that the SDP orchestrated attacks on the Secretary of the Kogi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, Mr. Mike David, as part of a strategy to cover up its clandestine plans. It alleged that the SDP was eager to file a petition against the November 11 governorship election outside the allowable period under the Electoral Act.

The APC highlighted that on Monday, patriotic lawyers from across the three senatorial districts of the state had alerted the public to the SDP’s covert plan to file a petition through the backdoor and backdate it to circumvent the provisions of the Electoral Act.

Fanwo stated, “It is not hard for the discerning to see through the concocted lies and warped strategy of the SDP, as the purported attack on the Tribunal Secretary was said to have occurred on the day their dubious, anti-democratic plan was exposed.”

He raised questions about the timing and circumstances of the alleged attack, asking why it did not occur before the midnight of December 3, 2023, when the 21-day window for filing petitions closed. Fanwo also queried how the SDP was the first to know about the purported attack and raised doubts about the party’s sudden advocacy for the Tribunal Secretary.

While cautioning the public not to be misled, Fanwo reiterated the call on security agencies to investigate the numerous petitions before them. He criticized the inaction of security agencies in the face of what the APC sees as atrocities committed by the SDP and its supporters.

The APC further highlighted threats against a lawyer who exposed the SDP’s backdoor filing plans, stating that such threats were before the security agencies. The party urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct the Department of State Services and the Police to thoroughly investigate the situation.