Victor Ezeja
ANAMBRA States’ Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Don Adinuba, has said Federal Government’s threat to declare state of emergency if the new spate of violence in the Southeast State persists during its governorship election, is an indictment of President Muhammadu Buhari who is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and Nigeria’s Chief Security officer.
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami had after Federal Executive Council meeting at State House, Abuja said the Federal Government may declare a state of emergency in Anambra if the current violence and killings in the state does not stop during the governorship election scheduled to hold on November 6, in order to provide security and maintain democratic order.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn a statement issued on Wednesday evening, Adinuba said the statement by Malami has confirmed the fears of Nigerian people that there are some political forces both within and outside the state who were behind the recent killings in the state with the intention of frightening people not to come out and vote on the election day so they could manipulate the results.
He accused some politicians in the state of plotting to impose the state of emergency rule and wondered why such option should be considered when the level of insecurity in the state has not gotten to the level of needing security emergency.
He added that what is happening in the state is not even a fraction of the magnitude of violence witnessed in some states in the Northern part of the country, but elections were successfully conducted in those states in 2019.
He said, “Like all Nigerians, the people and government of Anambra State are appalled at the statement ascribed to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, that the Federal Government will impose a state of emergency on Anambra State if the new spate of violence in Anambra State persists during the November 6 gubernatorial election in the state.
“The declaration is not just a strong indictment of president Muhammadu Buhari who is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and the country’s Chief Security who is in charge of the Nigeria Police Force, State Security Service and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps but has confirmed the worst fear of the Nigerian people that politicians outside Anambra State in collaboration with their local minions are behind the recent spate of killings in the state to frighten people from coming out to vote in the forthcoming polls, thereby enabling them to write the results they like.
“It seems that since these politicians have proved unable to intimidate the Anambra people from coming out to participate in the vote, they have resolved to impose emergency rule on the state. Not up to 15 persons have lost their lives since the new spectre of violence in the state. For a state that has for the past seven years enjoyed the well-deserved reputation of being Nigeria’s safest and most peaceful state, this number is pretty high.
“But it is absolutely not even a fraction of the casualties the nation has seen in places like Borno, Zamfara, Katsina, Benue, Plateau, Yobe, Niger, Adamawa, Taraba, and others where terrorists have not only killed several thousands of civilians but also successfully attacked military formations and slaughtered soldiers and other security officers. They have even brought down some sophisticated combat aircraft. Were elections not held successfully in these states in 2019,”he queried.
The information commissioner also alleged that the threat of declaring a state of emergency is a grand plan by some political forces to impose whoever they want as governor.
He also alleged that the incessant change of police commissioners in the state as witnessed in recent times is politically motivated and couldn’t have been a mere happenstance.
“It is axiomatic that the incessant change of police commissioners in the state may not be a mere happenstance. Anambra is having its fifth Commissioner of Police in six months. The high turnover of police chiefs does not make for stability and continuity. Yet, the Federal Attorney General has the temerity to blame the State Government for the recent loss of lives in our beloved,” Adinuba stated.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
