By Aishat Ibrahim
Reactions have continued to trail the mild face-off that ensued between a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) and the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The governor had visited Magodo Estate Phase II, on Tuesday, to address the continued heavy police presence around the estate, asking the said police officer and his men to vacate the area — an order the latter defied claiming that the presence of the police was based on the instructions of Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and Usman Alkali Baba, the Inspector-General of Police. The video of the exchange has since gone viral on social media.
However, the Southwest Governors Forum, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi O. Akeredolu, the governor of Ondo State, has condemned the “disgraceful” event, describing the video as “disconcerting”.
“The utter disrespect, which underlines the response of the officer to the Governor establishes, beyond doubt, the impracticability of the current system, dubiously christened “Federalism”. An arrangement, which compels the Governor of a State to seek clarifications on security issues in his jurisdiction from totally extraneous bodies or persons, is a sure recipe for anarchy.
“We condemn, very strongly, this brazen assault on decency. We call on the IG to explain the justification for this intrusion. This is not acceptable. Any expectations of rapprochement between so called federating units and federal security agencies are becoming forlorn, progressively, due to deliberate acts which mock our very avowal to ethics and professionalism,” the statement read in part.
The Forum also condemned the role of the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN in “this act of gross moral turpitude.”
Southwest governors also advised their Lagos counterpart to deploy the regional security outfit, ‘Amotekun’ in the state, to protect the lives and property of the people.
“We call on the President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces to rein in the excesses of certain elements bent on acting in a manner capable of eroding the bond of trust existing between the people and the Federal Government. It is preposterous for political appointees to seek to undermine the very structure of service upon which their appointments rest,” the statement added.
