The Campaign for Democracy (CD) and Human Rights, Liberty Access, and Defenders’ (HURIDE) have come down heavily on the the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubukar Malami, for contemplating declaring State of Emergency in Anambra State.
In a joint Statement by the two human right groups they said the well calculated statement from Malami was kite flown by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and some elements around President Muhammadu Buhari to hijack the November 6 Governorship election in the State.
In the state statement signed by Dede Uzor A Uzor, chairman of CD in South East and Executive Director, HURIDE, the groups expressed surprise that Malami in this age and era should be contemplating a state of emergency as a way for APC to hijack power in Anambra State.
They asked whether Malami as a member of APC Campaign Council in Anambra State has the moral right to canvass for a State of emergency when he is a direct beneficiary of the emergency call.
The groups said that with this call it is quite clear that Malami has no intergrity and patriotism to be a Minister of the Federal Republic of NIgeria.
They then called for his immediate sack by the President since he has shown he could not grow beyond ethnic, religious and party biases.
The group said it is intriguing that Malami was thinking of imposing State of emergency in Anambra because of few selected killings in the state but turned blind eyes on massive killings in the entire North East and West, where Boko Haram,Fulani bandits and Herdsmen have sacked the residents and taken over.
They said that states in North East and West like Borno, Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina, Adamawa, Yobe even Plateau,Benue and Imo States have been witnessing unprecedented bloodletting but Malami has not thought of declaring State of emergency in those States.
The Anambra State Governorship election given as the reason for contemplating state of emergency does not arise because Kaduna and Borno States, the worst States security wise in the country just conducted Local Government election and there was no State of emergency there.
They accused Malami of plotting to remove democratic structures in the State to allow APC rig the November 6 election since all their plots have been hitting the rock.
“Why will APC want to impose state of emergency in Anambra State where there is minimal security breach or challenge. Those two States mentioned above conducted their Local Government election without State of emergency. why must Anambra be different.That is to say that Malami and his cohorts has undue vested interest to capture Anambra at all cost in this election”
“They should not attempt it. They should confront insecurity in the country frontally instead of using it achieve cheap political aim” said the group.
The rights group why they have to impose state of emergency before providing security in Anambra State.
They called on the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), African Union (AU), United States of America (USA), Great Britain, Canada to call Buhari and his Fulani cabals not to try anything funny in the South East by imposing State of emergency in any part of South East
They called on Federal Government to work hard to restore peace in the country especially South East as well as engage the groups causing insecurity in the zone.