An Adamawa magistrate court has fined Suleiman Umar, the African Democratic Congress governorship candidate, ₦3 million for pasting campaign materials on public buildings. The verdict came on Thursday and prompted a quick warning from the state government.
Hours after the ruling, Humwashi Wonosikou, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, held a press conference to make the government’s stance clear. “For some time now, the government has watched with concern the indiscriminate pasting of campaign posters and political materials on flyovers, bridges, public buildings, streetlights, road medians and other public infrastructure,” Wonosikou said.
He called the court judgment a landmark that settles the matter and showed the government’s resolve to protect public assets. “The law will be enforced without fear or favour. Members of the ruling party and the opposition stand on equal footing before the law,” he said, adding that no individual would receive preferential treatment on the basis of political affiliation or influence.
Wonosikou reminded politicians to use legal channels — approved billboards, designated ad spaces, TV, radio, digital platforms and town halls — for their campaigns. “Political participation is a constitutional right. Vandalising public infrastructure is not,” Wonosikou said.
Still, a Punch Online correspondent touring Yola soon after the conference found APC-branded posters on flyovers and other public buildings, raising questions about how evenly the crackdown will be applied.
