There's
a lot of craziness going on currently in Ekiti state. A day after an
Ayo Fayose loyalist was shot dead by unknown gunmen, hoodlums went on a
rampage destroying the campaign office of the state governor, Kayode
Fayemi, as well as the APC secretariat. The thugs also destroyed
properties belonging to other politicians.
Today's
chaos is believed to be an aftermath of the assassination of the former
chairman of the Ekiti state NURTW, Mr Omalafe Aderiye.
Above
is a pic of Governor Fayemi's
campaign office after it was razed. He has since declared a 7pm-7am
curfew in the state to halt the crisis. Continue to read the full text
of Governor Fayemi's broadcast in Ekiti today as he declared the
curfew...
THE PEACE OF OUR LAND IS NOT NEGOTIABLE
State Broadcast By
His Excellency
Dr. Kayode FAYEMI
Governor, Ekiti State, following the Breach of Peace in the State
Friday, September 26, 2014.
In o kun o Ekiti Kete.
It
has become expedient that I address you today on account of dire
happenings in the land of honour, Ekiti State. With tension mounting
across the state, Ekiti has been the subject of alarming headlines in
the news, following the tragic assault on the judiciary.
On
Monday, September 22, thugs acting on the incitement of an interested
party, were involved in the sacrilegious sacking of the court while
hearing on a political case was in progress.
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.
The court
premises was thrown into confusion and those present scurried away in
search of safety and security. This was on the back of his specious
allegation that the judiciary in the state is compromised and biased
against him. And the answer to that was to resort to jungle justice and
take the laws into his hands. This has led to the closure of the courts
indefinitely due to the inability of the security agencies to guarantee
the safety of lives and property in our temples of justice. With the
entrenched atmosphere of impunity, violence in the state has escalated
with the unfortunate loss of one life and the willful damage to several
properties to arson by rampaging thugs.
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.
Against this backdrop, it is understandable that not a few
stakeholders have expressed concern about what the development portends
for our dear state. The brazen contempt of our hallowed law courts and
the use of violence and intimidation to obstruct the course of justice
is a clear invitation to anarchy of the scale and texture that
characterized Ekiti State some years ago. Ekiti Kete, are those years
upon us again?
Already,
there is widespread anxiety about this development coming at a time the
state is going through the transitioning out of one administration and
the ushering in of a new one. This is a very delicate period that all
stakeholders must work together to ensure Ekiti State comes out stronger
for it.
During
periods of transition, vital partners in progress adopt a cautious
posture, watching for the slightest portents of the possible
discontinuity of the regime of peace and tranquility, amongst other
factors that have made our state conducive for investors and development
partners. We must not disrupt our very bright prospects for sustained
development in our state.
Considering
the cases that have triggered the recent spate of violence are
politically related, the political elite in our state from all disparate
quarters must exercise caution. 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. Accordingly, I have this morning directed the Attorney
General of the state to issue a legal advisory to the Chief Judge of the
state 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.
Now
that the security agencies appear to be fully seized of the situation, I
call on them not to relent in performing their constitutional role of
protecting lives and property in our 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.
Ekiti
Kete, consistent with our history of unity and love, let us work
together to make our state a garden of concord where our children and
their children will dwell in peace and safety. Even in the pursuit of
politics and justice, let us conduct ourselves as kinsmen, bound by a
shared love for Ekitiland but differing only in the choice of
instruments by which to accomplish the same goal.
Let us then temper
our competitive zeal with 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.
Ekiti
Kete, in order to forestall further descent into anarchy in our state, I
am taking the very difficult decision to suspend the ‘Thank You’ tour
which I’m undertaking as part of our transitioning-out formalities.
Also, I have taken the decision to institute a dusk to dawn curfew in
the state immediately. Accordingly, there would be no movement between
the hours of 7.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m.
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.
Let
us work together to stop the violence and brigandage that has brought
about serious embarrassment to our state in the last few days.
Let Peace Reign in the land of honour, Ekiti State.
