Nigeria's turning into a police state - Atiku warns

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned the Federal Government against turning the country into a police state following the restrictions placed on the way of some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and party members, to attend the campaign rally for their Ekiti State counterpart yesterday.

A press statement from the media office of the former Vice President noted that the action of the PDP-led Federal Government in stopping the governors of Kano, Rivers and Edo States from attending the APC governorship campaign rally in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, in a Gestapo-like manner was capable of turning Nigeria into a banana republic where fundamental rights of citizens are trampled upon with impunity.

The Turaki Adamawa said he was particularly miffed at the way the federal government has been dragging the military and police into politics warning 'the government must stop instigating state security agents paid from tax payers money against helpless, hapless and law abiding Nigerians.'

The APC top chieftain who promised at the party's recent national convention that he would lead the vanguard to unseat the Jonathan administration which he described as inept and incompetent, enjoined 'our gallant military men should remain focused on securing and protecting the territorial integrity of our great nation, especially in this time of terror attacks and insurgency across the country.'

Atiku also reminded Nigerians 'a government that deprives its citizens from access to jobs and education as manifested by the on-going closure of some tertiary institutions, such as polytechnics, to be shut for nearly a year, has alienated itself from the masses and will definitely suffer the repercussion at the polls, use of force or not.'