Former vice president Atiku Abubakar has deplored the incessant
police harassment of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, saying the
situation has become incomprehensible, outrageous and humiliating.
In a statement issued by his media office on Monday, Atiku said he
was highly embarrassed by the excesses and open partisanship against a
democratically elected governor who is also the chief security officer
of the state.
He called on the police in Rivers State to halt their siege against
the new Peoples Democratic Party headquarters in Abuja, which has
entered its second week.
“Nothing justifies the advocacy for the decentralization of the police by allowing states to set up their own more than this.
“There is nowhere in the world the police would take sides in private
political conflicts at the expense of its constitutional role,” the
statement added.
The former vice president regretted that the persistent harassment of
the governor has gone too far to be tolerated by decent public opinion
and other leaders.
The glaring partisanship of the police, Atiku argued would continue to elicit agitation for state police by the Nigerian people.
“Police partisanship must stop immediately because it poses a threat
to our nascent democracy. Our police force must concentrate solely on
providing safety and security for Nigerians who face daily threats of
violence and kidnappings.
“Nigeria continues to head in the wrong direction. We face chronic
joblessness and now a crippling, three-month long ASUU strike preventing
students from attending school. That is where the Federal Government’s
focus must be, not on launching partisan police actions,” Atiku stated.
He also noted that, considering the heavy expenditure state
governments make to equip and support the police, the harassment of
Amaechi could undermine such cooperation.
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