Segun Atanda/
Gombe State governor, Alhaji Hassan Dankwambo, has urged Nigerians to be prepared to protect democracy against obvious threats from anti-democratic elements.
Dankwambo’s charge followed Tuesday’s invasion of the National Assembly by security forces, led by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Dankwambo in a statement, which he personally signed, decried what he described as the “forceful take-over of the National Assembly Complex by some renegade officials of some security agencies as an ignominious assault on the rules of decency, a rude violation of the principles of separation of powers and, ultimately, a violent assault on our democracy”.
Dankwambo further stated: “What happened should set alarm bells ringing in the heads of every patriotic Nigerian and every friend of Nigeria that our nation is being taken to the precipice and the agents of destruction are very much at work.
“It is just alright that Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has acted decisively by relieving the Director General of the State Security Service of his job with immediate effect. But it must be noted that this is not enough comfort. All of the officers involved in today’s egregious act, as well as their directing superiors, have committed an act of treason against the people of Nigeria who, irrespective of political divides and partisan fault lines, have a common goal of ensuring the sanctity of our democratic institutions.
Such officers and men must, therefore, be brought to justice.
“I am also putting it on record that all Nigerians must now be vigilant. A certain tyranny is on the loose and dictatorship is on the prowl, out to devour our democracy.
“Disagreements and differences of opinions are enriching ingredients of participatory government. But to push such to the level of turbulence, using the apparatus of the state to intimidate, and potentially seeking the violent death of democracy is unacceptable.
The passions of desperation for power must never be allowed to overcome the voice of the people and this budding tyranny must be resolutely resisted with the utmost resilience for which Nigerians are renowned.
“The principle of separation of powers is a carefully thought-out design for checking the excesses of all arms in a democracy and ensuring that the people are the supreme sovereign. It is a principle that must be upheld at all times.
“Once again, Nigerians must stay on guard. And all of those directly or indirectly involved in the attempt to assail the ideals of democracy today must not only be fished out but also brought to justice.”
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