Ekiti Violence: Arrest, Prosecute Fayose now – APC

Ayo FayoseThe All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the governor-elect of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose for allegedly leading thugs to beat up a Judge and then instigating his supporters to attack and burn down the opposition’s secretariat in the state.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement in Lagos on Friday, said since Mr. Fayose does not yet enjoy any immunity from arrest and prosecution, he should immediately be arrested over “the dastardly and barbaric attack, which represents an attack on justice and on the rule of law, and the violence that has gripped the state”.

The party noted that every time a judge is attacked anywhere in the world, the attackers have been jailed to serve as a deterrent to others who may want to take the laws into their hands, adding: “The case of the thuggish Fayose should not be different”.

The opposition party said it is particularly  necessary to act fast to prevent anarchists and crude individuals from taking the laws into their hands and tampering with the administration of justice, especially because the attack on Justice John Adeyeye came a few days after pro-Fayose and pro-PDP thugs invaded a courtroom in the state and beat up litigants, among others.

The statement said the clear message being sent out by the PDP is that it is ready to resort to self-help to capture and govern any state, especially in the South-West where the PDP’s desperation has forced it to put forward reprobates as governorship candidates.

“Even though Mr. 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 of on the streets, and judges preside in the administration of justice.

“The disgusting attacks on the administration of justice in Ekiti has shown the truism in the aphorism ‘show me your friends and I will tell you who you are’. Nigerians now know the company the PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan keep and what the party and the President truly are.

“The Fayose that is leading thugs to attack a Judge in Ekiti is the same man that President Goodluck Jonathan, as the leader of the PDP, heartily campaigned for. He is the same man who has called himself the overall leader of the PDP in the South-West. He is the same man who has gone on television to justify the court attack. Indeed, a leopard really cannot change its spots”.

The APC said while Ekiti State Police Commissioner Taiwo Lakanu did well by rushing to the venue to help restore order after the Judge had been beaten up on Thursday, the overall role of the police in the two attacks was shameful.

It said: “According to published reports which have yet to be refuted, police personnel stood by while litigants, lawyers and other citizens were being mauled by rabid PDP thugs in the first attack, and again seemed powerless as Justice Adeyeye was being manhandled and his suit torn until the Police Commissioner arrived at the scene. If this is not an act of collusion, then it is a case of unacceptable gross incompetence for which those security agents must be brought to book.

“If the police are no longer willing and able to carry out their constitutional duties of protecting the lives and property of the citizenry, then anarchy looms”.

APC said Nigerians must brace up for a hellish time in the hands of the PDP from now on till next year’s general elections, considering that the party’s thugs are also alleged to have killed several people in Lagos recently after a PDP rally attended by President Jonathan.

The statement continued: “During his recent trip to New York, President Jonathan assured the international community that next year’s elections will be conducted in accordance with global best practices. Well, it is now clear that the President’s assurances are not worth the paper on which they were written, going by the actions of his party members. Global best practices do not include beating up Judges, lawyers and litigants!

“How can elections be free, fair and transparent in a lawless society? How can elections be credible when policemen are taking sides with the ruling party? How can elections be violence-free when candidates being put forward by the ruling party are ready to engage in jungle justice? We can only call on the international community to maintain a keen interest in events in Nigeria in the days and weeks ahead, if only to show the ruling PDP for what it truly is: an enclave of anarchists and dead-enders!”