NASS Invasion: Arewa Elders, Gumi Accuse Police Of Endangering Democracy

NASS Invation:Arewa Elders,  Gumi Accuse Police Of Endangering Democracy 

Source: Guardian News

• Our Action In Order, Police Insist

FOLLOWING the awful event at the National Assembly last Thursday, Arewa elders and renowned Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmed Abubakar Gumi, have accused the Police of putting the nation’s democracy on the verge of destruction.

  The Arewa elders, who spoke under the umbrella of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), said Friday that the attack by the Nigeria Police on members of the National Assembly which led to the closure of the NASS complex by the Senate President, Senator David Mark, was most unfortunate and an abuse of state power.

 However, the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Emmanuel Ojukwu, told journalists at the Force Headquarters Friday that the Police acted within the ambit of the law and that he “is satisfied with their action.”

  According to a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of ACF, Alhaji Muhammadu Ibrahim, “the Police’s constitutional role of protecting the people and maintaining law and order was not properly applied in handing the National Assembly drama.”

  The Arewa elders pointed out that the police and some unpatriotic politicians were gradually being used to derail the nation’s nascent democracy ahead of the 2015 general elections.

  Alhaji Ibrahim said: “The attack on the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal and other members of the House of Representatives with tear gas canisters, which led to pandemonium where senators and members sustained injuries, was barbaric and unnecessary considering the fact that the Police was there to protect members and not to attack and humiliate them.”

  He argued that “the nation cannot afford the misuse of state power by our security agencies at this material time as it could lead to breakdown of law and order especially as we approach the 2015 elections.”

  In his reaction to the incident, Sheikh Gumi, expressed sadness over the political development in Nigeria and wondered why the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would like to recycle the President in 2015.

  Gumi remarked that the blockade at the National Assembly was a good omen, adding that  “the National Assembly is the heart of our collective existence; it is the core of the democratic governance and the antidote to political impunity and despotism.”

  He added: “For long it has been paralysed by the executive which capitalises on their human weakness — greed. Now the hour is come. The NASS can never be the same again.” 

  Ojukwu said the police have arrested seven people in connection with the fracas, noting that the Force has the responsibility to maintain law and order in the country. 

  He said, “it was obvious that the “never-do -wells” in the company of Speaker Aminu Tambuwal were out to cause trouble at the Assembly, hence the operation