In a live broadcast in Ado-Ekiti on
Friday, Fayemi said, “There would be no
movement between the hours of 7.00 p.m and 7.00 am everyday till further notice.
movement between the hours of 7.00 p.m and 7.00 am everyday till further notice.
“We urge the citizenry to be vigilant and
provide the security agencies with details of suspicious activities
that can undermine the peace in our state.”
The declaration followed widespread
violence across the state capital on Friday following Thursday’s killing
of a former Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers,
Omolafe Aderiye, by gunmen.
The office of Kayode Fayemi Campaign
Organisation and three vehicles in the state secretariat of the All
Progressives Congress were burnt in the early hours of Friday.
Last Monday, hoodlums invaded the Ekiti
State High Court presided over by Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi to disrupt
proceedings in a case challenging the eligibility of the Governor-elect,
Mr. Ayodele Fayose, to contest the June 21 election won by him.
The invasion occurred shortly after the
judge refused an application to set aside an order abridging the time
for the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate to file his defence in the
case filed by two members of the Ekiti-11, Mr. Adeniyi Ajakaiye and
Olufemi Ajayi.
On Thursday, another judge, Justice John Adeyeye, was beaten by some thugs who also tore his suit.
There was also tension at the Ekiti State
Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Thursday in a matter between
the APC and Fayose.
Tracing the genesis of the violence to
the Monday attack on Justice Ogunyemi, Fayemi indicted law enforcement
agencies for not doing enough to avoid the situation.
He said, “This happened in full glare of
the law enforcement agents with inappropriate response. Clearly, these
brigands exceeded the limits of acceptable behavior, even in the most
liberal of democracies, and ventured into the realm of blatant
criminality with this desecration of the hallowed chambers of the law.
“The fact that this assault did not meet
with any strong deterring repercussions from the appropriate authorities
further emboldened the miscreants.
“They subsequently attempted to prevent
the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal from sitting,
yesterday, Thursday, September 25. I am advised incontrovertibly that
thugs acting on the command of Mr. Ayo Fayose, who was also present to
lend his clout to the travesty, brazenly assaulted a senior judge and
urged his thugs to beat him up and tear his clothes.”
He added, “Since the beginning of this
development on Monday, which is unprecedented in the recent history of
our state, I have been in touch with the heads of all security agencies
at the state and federal levels, urging them to act quickly and firmly
in the interest of public law and order. It is worrisome that the slow
and inadequate response has occasioned the avoidable escalation of
violence in our dear state.”
The governor described the use of violence and intimidation to obstruct the course of justice as an invitation to anarchy.
He appealed to the political elite to
exercise caution as the state is in the transition era, asking
stakeholders to support efforts to ensure that Ekiti State come out of
the crisis stronger.
Fayemi said, “We must rescue our state
from the precarious slippery slope that some have desperately pushed us
to. We should not imperil the very people we seek to serve by resorting
to violence and brigandage. One does not burn down his homestead to
establish his claim of ownership or leadership.
“Most assuredly, the course of Justice
can only be delayed, but can never be truncated. The independence of the
Judiciary is an inviolable tenet of any democracy.”
The governor said he had directed the
Attorney General of the state, Mr. Wale Fapohunda, to issue a legal
advisory to the Chief Judge, Ayodeji Daramola, and all the parties to
the existing cases in the State High Court and the Ekiti State
Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal, on the desirability of
seeking an alternative venue for the hearing of these cases outside
Ekiti State.
“The State can no longer afford to
witness the bizarre spectacle of the beating up of judicial officers and
wanton intimidation of lawyers and court personnel.”
Fayemi, who noted that the security
agencies had taken control of the situation, urged them not to relent in
performing their constitutional role of protecting lives and property
in the state.
“Administrations come and go; politics
can be frenetic when the stakes are high; but by the grace of the
Almighty God, our state remains for all time, therefore the peace of our
land is not negotiable.”
The Governor appealed to the people to
see themselves as brothers despite their political differences by
embracing civility and empathy.
“Let us deal truthfully with our youth,
who are so liable to be led astray by unbridled political fervour, by
seeing them as our children rather than as conscripts or fodder for our
objectives.
“Let us work together to stop the
violence and brigandage that has brought about serious embarrassment to
our state in the last few days.”
Police begin investigation
The Ekiti State Police Command has begun
investigation into the alleged killing of a former Ekiti State chairman
of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Omolafe Aderiye.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr.
Victor Babayemi, also announced the arrest of some suspects over the
violence that erupted in the state on Friday.
Aderiye was a staunch supporter of the Governor-elect, Mr. Ayo Fayose.
A statement entitled “Murder of Chief
Aderiye Omolafe and the attendant civil unrest” made available to
journalists, Babayemi said, “In the last 24 hours, Ado-Ekiti, the state
capital, has witnessed series of unpleasant events.”
He recalled that the police in the early
hours of Thursday reacted to the rowdy situation by some people around
the high court premises in Ado-Ekiti by dispersing them and escorting
judges and lawyers out of the court premises to their various abode.
Babayemi said, “Regrettably, while the
police were reviewing their strategies at putting an end to rowdiness in
and around the court premises, the news of the killing came in.
“And, in response, the Commissioner of
Police led policemen out all night and was able to forestall the
breakdown of law and order generated by the killing.
“However, in the morning hoodlums started
coming out in droves, taking to the streets of Ado-Ekiti and causing
carnage by setting fire on some buildings, vehicles and property.
“The Commissioner of Police again reacted
by leading senior officers on patrol to curtail the situation. With
this prompt and decisive response, the situation in Ado-Ekiti metropolis
was brought under effective control.
Babayemi, however, warned that anyone found flouting the curfew order by Fayemi would be dealt with.
NBA raises investigative team
The Nigerian Bar Association has said
that it will send what it called “a high powered team” to Ekiti State to
investigate Monday’s and Thursday’s attack on judges and disruption of
court proceedings in the state.
The NBA President said in a statement on
Friday that the association would ensure that anyone found to be
involved in the “show of shame” would be made to face the wrath of the
law.
The statement read, “The NBA is sending a
high powered team to Ekiti to investigate the facts surrounding this
matter. Any person(s), no matter how highly placed, found involved in
this show of shame and desecration of our courts will surely face the
full force of the law as NBA will ensure prosecution of such person(s).
“We will not sit idly while persons who
do not mean well for our society take steps capable of plunging our
country into anarchy.”
The Ado-Ekiti branch of the association also condemned the attack, describing the development as primitive and crude.
Addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti, the
branch chairman, Mr. Joseph Adewumi and the Secretary, Mr. Gbemiga
Adaramola, urged the state Commissioner of Police, Taiwo Lakanu, to beef
up security within and outside the premises of courts in the state.
APC seeks Fayose’s arrest
The All Progressives Congress has called
for the arrest and prosecution of the Ekiti State Governor-elect, Mr.
Ayodele Fayose, for allegedly leading thugs to beat up a judge and
instigating his supporters to attack and burn public property in the
state.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Friday
by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC said
since Fayose had yet to enjoy immunity, he should be arrested for
prosecution.
The APC said it was necessary to act fast
to prevent anarchists and crude individuals from taking the laws into
their hands and tampering with the administration of justice because the
attack on Justice John Adeyeye came a few days after pro-Fayose and
pro-PDP thugs invaded a court room in the state.
The party said, “Even though Fayose has
not assumed office, he has succeeded in taking Ekiti State back to Egypt
within a few months of his ‘election’. Not only are judges being
attacked, the kind of killings and chaos that characterised his first
time in charge of the state have already started.
“He is struggling hard to ensure that
Ekiti is no longer in the league of states where disputes are settled in
courts, instead on the streets, and judges preside in the
administration of justice.”
Fayose, PDP react
The Ekiti State Governor-elect, Mr.
Ayodele Fayose, has condemned Thursday’s killing of the former state
NURTW Chairman, Omolafe Aderiye, as barbaric and political.
Fayose, who visited Aderiye’s widow on Friday, described the killing as barbaric and political.
He said, “We were together till about 5pm
yesterday (Thursday). But taking his life is not an option. It is not
the best. This is irreparable and we have come here to sympathise with
the family. If this other party are sure they are not the one who is
responsible for the killing, they should be courageous enough to come
and pay a condolence visit to his family.”
Reacting to Fayemi’s comment in which he
tactically blamed Fayose for inciting the mob action against the court
officials, the governor-elect said, “Fayemi is a defeated man, so I
don’t expect anything better from him. I see him as governor until his
time is over. So, I would rather not join issues with him. It is
reckless for anybody to be making assertions on an incident he didn’t
witness.”
The Peoples Democratic Party also condemned Aderiye’s killing.
A statement issued in Ado-Ekiti by the
state PDP Publicity Secretary, Kola Oluwawole, described the killing as
an act of wickedness, barbaric and satanic.
The statement read, “We have raised the
alarm on the clandestine move by Fayemi and his men to attack Fayose and
some notable leaders in all the 16 local government areas as from
September 22, 2014 while the killing of Aderiye, who is one of the
notable leaders of the PDP in Ado Ekiti occurred on the 25th of the same
month, this has vindicated our earlier claims.
“We don’t have any doubt in our mind if
the information at our disposal is anything to go by and the murder
incident that has been linked directly with the All Progressives
Congress members across the state in the past.”
Source:Punch Newspaper
Source:Punch Newspaper
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