Scores of lawyers and activists and a few politicians are trying to blackmail security agencies as the countdown to the governorship election in Kogi State begins.
They have called on President Bola Tinubu and other authorities to checkmate those groups and individuals working against a peaceful poll in the state.
The activists, under the aegis of Lawyers and Activists for Good Governance, called on security chiefs to caution and deal appropriately with politicians who have continued to undermine security agencies through unwarranted and incessant blackmail with a view to compromising them.
The activists, numbering about 500 across Nigeria and represented by stakeholders from the geopolitical zones at a press conference in Abuja, said such politicians should be called to order quickly to ensure violence and crisis-free elections, especially in Kogi.
They spoke against the backdrop of the accusation by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) that the state government was planning to clamp down on the party.
On their part, the activists accused SDP governorship candidate Muritala Yakubu of deliberately blackmailing the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) to prevent them from carrying out their constitutional assignments of ensuring the security of lives and property.
They recalled raising a similar alarm in July about the need for the authorities to act now.
The co-convener of the group, Comrade Mohammed Sanni, referred to a recent press release by the SDP in which the party passed a vote of no confidence in the security agencies in the state while alleging that they were planning to arrest some of their members. He wondered why the SDP standard-bearer was the only candidate who had had a running battle with every police commissioner deployed to Kogi.
He said, “We consider as unfortunate and irresponsible the press release authored by the Social Democratic Party a few days ago, which amounted to blackmailing the police and the Department of State Services, DSS, for carrying out their constitutional assignments of providing security for politicians and the electorate alike.
“In the said press release, the SDP claimed to have passed a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the police and DSS in the state and called for their removal.
The party alleged that the security agencies were planning to arrest some of their people. If those people have committed crimes worth investigating, why would they not be invited or arrested as the case warrants?”
The activists added, “You will recall that the state’s Police Commissioner recently issued a statement saying that all invitations extended to Mr Muritala Ajaka, the governorship candidate of the SDP, either for peace meetings with other candidates or to respond to several allegations of violent conduct against him and his supporters, were not honoured by the candidate.
“It is a given that, except you have constitutional immunity, ignoring police invitations is not proper. Nobody is above the law, and, certainly, Mr. Ajaka has no constitutional immunity and cannot be treating our security agencies with disdain.
“We have nothing against him and his party. But the idea of acting as if above the law is not only unacceptable but totally condemnable. There are 18 political parties participating in the Kogi election, and no one candidate should be allowed to hold the state to ransom.
“Out of these 18 candidates, it appears to us that it is only Mr Ajaka who has been having troubles with security agents across the board. You have refused to honour police invitations but now turn around to accuse the police and DSS of partiality.
“We reiterate our support for the police and DSS for their good work in securing Kogi State, and we urge them to remain unperturbed and focused on ensuring that we have a peaceful election on November 11 by checking whoever poses a threat to the upcoming election.
“We urge them never to succumb to cheap blackmail but to continue doing their jobs professionally and patriotically,” they stated.
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