By Dansu Peter
In a statement signed by its Chairman Dr. Julius Berger, the Coaltion of 1,000 civil society groups said this action is a gross violation of the rule of law, an affront to democracy, and a deliberate attempt to undermine the authority of the judiciary.
Berger lamented that the Police, under the guise of maintaining law and order, have become an instrument of oppression, denying workers access to their offices and causing loss of man-hours.
“We recall that the state High Court had nullified the amended Local Government Law that backed the tenure elongation of the former chairmen, and the appeal court dismissed the appeals filed by Martin Amaewhule and others for lacking in merit,” he said.
“It is therefore surprising that the Police have continued to barricade the council secretariats, days after the tenure elongation controversy appeal was dismissed.
“We call on the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, to immediately withdraw policemen from the council secretariats and respect the judgment of the court. The continued presence of Police at the council secretariats is a clear violation of the principle of separation of powers.
“We also urge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to call the Inspector General of Police to order and direct him to immediately withdraw policemen from the council secretariats. We commend the Rivers State Government for their swift inauguration of new caretaker chairpersons after the expiration of the tenure of the last officials.
“We also applaud the Organised Labour for their bold stance in calling for the withdrawal of policemen from the council secretariats. We urge all well-meaning Nigerians to join us in condemning this brazen attack on democracy and the rule of law.”
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