The Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Abubakar, on Wednesday, directed officers in special units to be on alert, as Nigeria marks its 15th anniversary of return to democratic rule.
According to a statement issued in Abuja by the spokesman of the force, Frank Mba, a chief superintendent of police, the IGP gave the directive after a meeting with the force management team.
He reportedly directed Assistant Inspectors General, AIGs and commissioners in charge of intelligence, command commissioners, officers in charge of counter-terrorism, special and protection squads, and mobile police to ensure effective and strategic deployment of personnel.
Abubakar assured Nigerians that measures had been put in place to ensure hitch-free celebration, adding that the police and other security agencies were working to ensure safety for all.
Meanwhile, some lawmakers in the National Assembly, have described Nigeria’s 15 years of uninterrupted democracy as a significant milestone in the life of the nation.
They also re-affirmed their determination to pursue aggressive legislative agenda to reposition the legislature as a key branch of government.
Senate minority whip, Ganiyu Solomon (APC- Lagos), said that although Nigeria had achieved tremendous growth in the last 15 years of democracy, a lot more could still be achieved.
“We have witnessed some political development and political growth. If you are talking of democracy as participatory governance as against other forms of government, I think we have achieved some development,” he said.
In the view of another senator, Heineken Lokpobiri (PDP Bayelsa), the country is better off under democratic rule, as he believes that the worst form of democracy is better than the best dictatorship.
Lokpobiri, who described democracy as ‘a very slow journey’, expressed confidence that the country was making progress under democratic governance.
“It is only in a democracy that you can hold your leaders accountable. I believe that Nigeria’s parliament is the most active in the world given our age; you don’t expect us to attain the same level of perfection as the older democracies like America which is over 200 years, ours is just 15,” he noted.
Another lawmaker, Robert Boroffice (APC-Ondo) said that although Nigerians were not enjoying democractic dividends as expected, it was better to practice democracy than military dictatorship.
“I think so far so good, we are enjoying our freedom. The dividends of democracy may not be coming as we expect and we know why it is so. This largely is because of the problem of corruption in the society, impunity on the part of government in some decisions taken which contradict the principles of democracy because there is no accountability,” he said.