Anambra Govt faults FG’s state of emergency threat, says it's pure politics

The government of Anambra state has faulted the threat by the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency due to the recent wave of insecurity in the state.

The Minister of Justice, and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, had earlier on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, said that the FG would declare a state of emergency in Anambra to ensure the November 6 gubernatorial election in the state takes place.

Reacting to Malami’s statement, the Commissioner for Information in Anambra, Don Adinuba said the minister’s statement was politically motivated.

He said the recent attacks in the state do not warrant an emergency rule, saying the people killed in the attacks were not more than 15.

He added that the FG failed to threaten APC-controlled states with an emergency rule despite the level of insecurity in some of the states.

He said, “Nigerians are outraged by the threat of the honourable attorney-general and minister of justice of the federation, a senior advocate of Nigeria.

“Since the renewed violence in Anambra state, which we believe is politically motivated, not more than 15 persons have been killed.

“How many persons have died in Borno, Niger, Kaduna, Yobe, Zamfara? Even Imo, which is APC-controlled, and Ebonyi, [also] APC-controlled, has anybody threatened emergency rule in any of these states?”

Adinuba further described Anambra as the most stable state in the country, adding that the state has not witnessed any case of bank robbery in the past seven years.

“For the past seven years, Anambra state has remained the safest state, most stable in Nigeria. We remained the only state in the country that for the past seven years, we have not experienced a single bank robbery, he said.

“What is going on here is politically motivated and the declaration by the attorney-general of the federation is a confirmation.

“I don’t want us to live in denial. What prompted the attorney-general of the federation to make that declaration is pure politics. There is no point being in denial.

“I have asked a very simple question: What is the situation in Borno, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Adamawa and Taraba? Elections were held in all these states, free and fair, declared by INEC.

“What is so special that the federal government of Nigeria should be contemplating a state of emergency. It is all about politics. There is nothing that has not been done to ensure that the right candidates do not participate in the election, including going as far as Birnin Kudu.”

Although the FG threatened to declare a state of emergency in Anambra, Malami also maintained that despite the recent wave of attacks in the state, the federal government is determined to conduct a hitch-free election in the state.