The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has urged the leadership of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and All Progressives Congress (APC) to caution their supporters against attacking each other in Anambra.

CLO chair in Anambra Vincent Ezekwueme in Enugu on Sunday demanded an end to the ongoing “despicable verbal attacks” between the supporters of the two political parties.

“There should be an end to the current despicable verbal attacks to forestall and avoid the negative situation degenerating into open confrontations, unrest and blood-letting in the state,” the CLO leader stated.

Mr Ezekwueme said the political gladiators in the state should give peace a chance by calling on their supporters, praise singers, hangers-on and sycophants to refrain from making inflammatory statements.

According to him, political gladiators and their supporters should stop casting unsubstantiated aspersions and spreading fake news against perceived or imaginary opponents of their principals and leaders. He noted that there had been political tensions in the state recently following the verbal attacks, insults, humiliations and abusive words between supporters of APGA and APC.

“Constructive, corrective and patriotic criticisms are the beauty and essence of democracy and democratic governance, while the absence of them is a great threat to democracy. Hate speech and fake news are threats to democracy and democratic culture, hence the need to avoid them.

“It is noteworthy that the state has had enough unrest, crisis and cries. It is, therefore, in dire need of peace, unity, trust, tranquillity and tolerance,” Mr Ezekwueme said. 

The CLO chief called on political leaders to ensure that their supporters civilly conduct themselves, respect the views and interests of perceived opponents of their principals and toe the path of constitutionality, rule of law and social justice.

Mr Ezekwueme added, “Our political leaders and their supporters should think before they speak to avoid unnecessarily heightening the political tension and acrimony in the state. 

“It is too early to discuss, canvass or campaign for the November 2025 governorship election, as the incumbent governor has not spent half of his four-year tenure. They should rather rededicate themselves to the service of God and humanity and provide the much-needed dividends of democracy.” 

(NAN)