The Federal Government has threatened to declare a state of emergency in Anambra State over the growing violence in the state.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, issued this threat while addressing State House correspondents at the end of the recent Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja. He said the federal government was worried about the growing violence in Anambra with just few days to the state governorship election.
The Anambra State governorship election will take place on November 6, 2021.
The Minister of Justice stressed that the government was bent on ensuring a hitch-free election in Anambra in the face of the series of attacks and killings in the state.
He said: “When our national security is attacked, and the sanctity of our constitutionally-guaranteed democracy is threatened, no possibility is ruled out.
“As a government, we have a responsibility to ensure the sustenance of our democratic order. As a government, we have a responsibility to provide security for lives and properties.
“So, within the context of these constitutional obligations of the government or the desire to establish democratic norms and order, there is no possibility that is ruled out.
“So, what I’m saying, in essence, is that no possibility is ruled out by the government in terms of ensuring the sanctity of our democratic order, in terms of ensuring that our elections in Anambra hold.
“And you cannot rule out the possibility of a declaration of a state of emergency where it is established, in essence, that there is a failure on the part of the state government to ensure the sanctity of security of lives, properties, and democratic order.”
