Bayelsa State Governor, the Honourable Henry Seriake Dickson, and the Ijaw National Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, have raised the alarm over the increasing abuse of security agencies by the ruling political party, the All Progressives Congress, and the Federal Government.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, quoted Governor Dickson and the Elder Statesman as raising the concern when Pa Clark paid him a condolence visit on the death of his mother, Ma Goldcoast Dickson, in Abuja, on Friday.
The governor said Nigerians were deeply worried about the conduct of the security agencies across in the country.
According to him, the security agencies were disturbingly metamorphosing into an extension of the ruling party, the APC, ahead of the 2019 general election.
Governor Dickson condemned the recent assassination attempt on the Deputy Senate President, Prof. Ike Ekweremadu, and the police invasion of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.
He described the action of the police authorities, who sealed off the House òf Assembly, as an assault on the democratic order, which he said should not be encouraged.
Dickson stated further that the recent posting of eight police commissioners to Bayelsa State within a shockingly short period of three months only showed a sinister plot to destabilize the peace, security and stability of the state ahead of the 2019 general elections.
He called on the relevant authorities and the security agencies to conduct themselves in a way that would promote the nation’s democracy rather than putting it in jeopardy.
“We are all concerned about the conduct of security agencies ahead of the 2019 general elections. In fact, all lovers of Nigeria and democracy are concerned about the conduct of the security agencies.
“The agencies have become an extension of the ruling party, which should not be. The abuse of the security forces constitute a threat to the security, democracy and stability of the country.
“I condemn the recent assassination attempt on the life of the Deputy Senate President, Prof. Ike Ekweremadu. It is totally reprehensible.
“I also condemn the invasion of the Akwa Ibom State House òf Assembly. It was a desecration of the democratic order.
“In Bayelsa, we have had no fewer than eight police commissioners in the last three months. It won’t take you long to know that there is a sinister game going on to destabilize and create instability in the state that we have worked so hard to stabilize. We urge the security agencies to conduct themselves in a way that would stabilize democracy.
“The greatest challenge we have ahead of the 2019 election is the conduct of the security agencies. That is the concern of all well-meaning Nigerians.
Politicians and people in government need to know that there is a country to govern after elections.
“Let us not in the quest for election, destroy these critical agencies of state and the career and reputation of these officials. When you politicize these agencies, you threaten the careers of these people who are professionals in their own right,” Governor Dickson said.
Governor Dickson warned against subjecting control of security agencies to non-state actors in the country.
Speaking also, Pa E.K Clark condemned the erratic transfer of eight police commissioners to Bayelsa State in three months.
He said that he was not surprised at the conduct of the police as they recently invaded his house in Abuja even at his age of 91 in a purported search for arms.
He cautioned a former governor of Bayelsa, who is a Chieftain òf the APC, who he accused of being behind the instigation of the politics in police postings to the state to stop making himself a laughing stock.
