Protests and attacks test APC's grip on the North ahead of 2027

Recent protests and attacks on campaign activities in parts of Northern Nigeria have put a spotlight on the All Progressives Congress (APC) as it prepares to defend the presidency in 2027.

The incidents do not amount to a blanket rejection of the party across the region, but they have added to questions about how much support President Bola Tinubu can count on in a part of the country that has historically decided national elections.

What has happened

On Monday, hundreds of young people protested at Freedom Square in Gusau, Zamfara State, causing heavy traffic at a major junction in the city. In a video obtained by Leadership, some wore white T-shirts with the inscription "TINUBU MUST GO" and sang solidarity songs.

Earlier, on October 28, suspected political thugs attacked APC supporters travelling along the Yashi-Funtua road in Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State. They were heading to the Tinubu-Dikko 2027 campaign flag-off in Funtua. According to the Katsina State Police Command, the attackers threw stones at the convoy and passing commercial vehicles, damaging windscreens and injuring a female passenger. Police arrested 14 suspects.

In a separate Katsina incident, police arrested three people after a crowd reportedly blocked a road, threw stones and set a vehicle ablaze in Yankara, Faskari Local Government Area, shortly after Governor Dikko Radda passed through on his way to an APC governorship rally. Political posters were also burnt, and police described the incident as suspected political thuggery.

In September, a video showed residents dismantling a wooden APC campaign structure bearing the party's branding and the image of Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani. A fact-check by The FactCheckHub on September 4, 2026 found the video authentic.

Why the North is unhappy

Political and economic analyst Adefolarin Olamilekan told Leadership that the discontent has three main drivers: economic hardship, dissatisfaction with political appointments, and a feeling that power should return to the North under the country's rotation arrangement.

He argued that hardship alone does not explain the anger, saying no region is happy with the cost of living, but that some northern elites are also pushing for power to shift back.

Legal practitioner Anayo Adibe pointed to insecurity, the number of children out of school and widening poverty. He said that if a government has had almost four years and has not tackled these issues, "the people are right to reject that government."

The National President of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Debo Adeniran, cautioned against reading every protest as the true mood of the North. He said opposition politicians may spread misleading narratives during electioneering, and urged politicians not to encourage violence.

There has been speculation online that the 2027 election could be postponed because of the opposition's strength in the North. There is no evidence for this. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed the presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027.

Under Nigeria's electoral rules, INEC can only shift a poll on serious security or emergency grounds, not because of a party's or candidate's prospects.

What happens next

Campaigns will continue across the region, and the coming weeks will show whether the protests and attacks spread or fade. For ordinary voters in the North, the bigger question is whether the next government, whichever party wins, tackles insecurity, poverty and out-of-school children.