The declaration was contained in a statement signed by the acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, Muhammadu Maccido.

'Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd) who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, enjoined Christian faithful and Nigerians in general to extend the spiritual benefits of Easter, which are love, peace, justice, sacrifice and kindness to their daily living, and through this contribute to unity and peaceful co-existence among Nigerians', the statement read.

Gen. Dambazau further urged Nigerians to co-operate and join hands with President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, in his sustained efforts to build a strong and virile nation.

Meanwhile, Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu, has ordered the deployment of 40,000 personnel for the Easter celebration across the nation.

Gana while felicitating with the Christian faithful urged them to lead exemplary life preached by Christ, who sacrificed himself for the sins of all.

He reiterated that fasting period as observed by Christians before the Easter is a time meant for the atonement of sin, alms-giving, reconciliation, tolerance and making peace with one another in ensuring lasting peace and harmony in the society, therefore, Easter festivity should not be seen as a time of merriment and fun fare alone but should be seen as a time of tolerating one another irrespective of the religious differences.

However, 'apart from the deployment of personnel, sniffer dogs, specialised units, such as CBRN, Special Force, Counter Terrorism, Ambulances, Surveillance team are to be deployed in strategic areas, he charged the personnel to ensure the protection of Critical Infrastructure within their localities against vandals and enemies of the nation', he said.