Lawan: Attackers of Imo Police Formations, Correctional Facilities Enemies of People

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has stated that those who attacked some police formations and correctional facilities in Imo State recently were enemies of the people.

Lawan said the aim of the attackers was probably to cause a distraction for the Imo State Government or even the federal government, according to a statement issued yesterday by Ola Awoniyi, the Senate President’s Special Adviser (Media).

The Senate President, Awoniyi said, spoke in Owerri where he inaugurated a road project which was completed by the administration of Governor Hope Uzodimma.

“We have been experiencing insecurity recently, especially in Imo State - the jail break, burning of Police Headquarters and so on and so forth. These may be attempts by enemies of the people to distract this administration or indeed the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” said the Senate President who was accompanied on the trip by Senator Jibrin Barau, Senator Biobarakuma Degi, Senator Halliru Jika, Senator Sani Musa, and Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele.

The road, which is named after a former Senate President, Late Chief Evan Enwerem, is one of the many infrastructural projects inaugurated to mark one year in office of Governor Uzodimma.

Lawan charged the people to take ownership of the projects, utilise them well and protect them.

He said, “When a government’s programme or project is vandalised, when a government institution is vandalised and burnt, those doing so are enemies of the people because when you incarcerate someone in prison and normally the due process would have been followed. This is in the public interest and therefore for anyone, whosoever that person is, to go and release prisoners or burn down the correctional centre otherwise known as prison, is No 1 enemy of the people.

“Our security agencies need more resources to ensure that we are all protected and life is secured as well as our property. We will continue to support our security agencies in partnership with the executive arm of government.

“This is so important because this kind of attitude, this kind of insurrection can lead to insurgency. We have witnessed that in the North-east. “Thank God by 2015, the insecurity and insurgency in the North-east started to come down because of the efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“We have unfortunately discovered that we have other security challenges from banditry to militancy,” Lawan said.

The Senate President said the appointment of the new Service Chiefs and Acting Inspector General of Police was to inject fresh ideas in a bid to finally overcome the security challenges.