Nigeria, July 4 -- The "owners" of political power in Nigeria appeared to have entered panic mode on Wednesday when the platform of the opposition, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), was to be launched. A few hours before the event, the organisers got a rude shock when the hotel abruptly cancelled a fully paid reservation. The Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments in Asokoro, Abuja, said they had to cancel the event due to an unspecified "internal compliance matter." The very late cancellation could only have meant some powerful people wanted to stop the inauguration of the coalition because they were afraid. Nonetheless, it was very strange behaviour because the reality of Nigeria is that you cannot stop the opposition from meeting.

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