Ekiti lawmakers flee to avoid arrest by police from Abuja

(Nigeria) Ekiti State lawmakers, said to support Governor Ayodele Fayose have gone into hiding and no longer sleep in their homes due to the persistent threats and intimidation by some policemen sent from police headquarters in Abuja to apprehend them.

They have temporarily fled the state  for fear of being arrested over unfounded allegations by the policemen who they claimed were led by one CSP Mohammed Abubakar.

Though, the lawmakers led by the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Segun Adewunmi said, that they would withstand anybody who tried to prevent them from doing their legislative duties, as at Wednesday, they hinted that all the lawmakers had left the state.

Adewunmi said, "We assembled here and decided to leave Ekiti. As at now, the governor cannot find any member of the House of Assembly. As we are here talking, others are out of the state."

Adewunmi, who addressed newsmen at the NUJ press centre, Iyaganku, Ibadan, Oyo State, alleged there was a clandestine move by the All Progressives Congress, APC,  led government to truncate democracy in the state.

"No amount of intimidation, arrest, detention, harassment and monetary inducement will make us dance to the tune of those whose only interest is to truncate the Fayose-led government and return to power through the backdoor. We have come here to alert the public about the new clandestine plot of the APC-led Federal Government to cripple the government of Ekiti State. On Tuesday, y, some policemen led by one CSP Mohammed Abubakar of the Force CID, Abuja, were brought to Ekiti State by the expelled former State Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr T.K.O. Aluko and the Ekiti State APC Chairman, Jide Awe.

"The assignment the policemen were brought to Ekiti State to carry out was to embark on indiscriminate arrest of top functionaries of the PDP and the State government, including 11 members of the State House of Assembly.

"The ground for the indiscriminate arrest is at the instance of TKO Aluko malicious lies that those listed for arrest stockpiled arms during the June 21, 2014 governorship election in which no violence was recorded, no one was killed and no one was attacked. We are aware that this plot is as a result of the failure of the Department of Services, DSS, to coerce members of the House of Assembly to impeach Governor Fayose just because of his criticism of the obnoxious policies of President Mohammadu Buhari’s APC government."

He said that they were not bothered much by their threats, wondering why the administration of Buhari was trying to muzzle all seeming political opponents which was not the case during the tenure of the former President Goodluck Jonathan.

"As at Tuesday night, our houses were already being identified by agents of the APC, who were recruited by the APC to assist the police to carry out the indiscriminate arrest. Our lives and existence is now being threatened by agents of the Federal Government and we no longer feel safe in our various homes in Ekiti State.

"We want Nigerians to help us ask the police and their APC collaborators what the arms they claimed were stockpiled during the election used for? Could arms have been stockpiled and no violence, death or attack was recorded during and after the election?

"Why is the APC in Ekiti State willing to bring to ridicule all agencies of the federal government of Nigeria just because the party lost an election fair and square close to two years ago?

“And why is the Police not arresting the APC Chairman, Jide Awe and T.K.O. Aluko, who was declared wanted by the court for perjury, and instead providing security cover for them?"

"Even though, we believe that the Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, a thoroughbred professional cannot be part of this clandestine plot, we call on Nigerians to impress it upon the police not to allow itself to be used by desperate APC politicians.This is because doing this will further expose the penchant of the Buhari-led administration for dictatorship."

"We are however undaunted in our unflinching support for the our governor, Mr Peter Ayodele Fayose and wish to state that freedom of thought and expression is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and in exercising this right, Governor Fayose won’t be intimidated by any agency of the federal government."

On if they had tried to plead with Governor Fayose to reduce his continuous criticisms of the policies of President Buhari, they replied they would rather encourage him to do more because Fayose was a man of the people adding that he was fighting for the masses and not himself.

Restating their earlier stance that they would not be bought over, they alleged that 20 lawmakers were lured with $1million, which they turned down.

"We have determined to face them. We are going to resist this. We will not agree with them and we will continue to cry out. Is it an offence to be in an opposition party? There were other opposition parties when the former President was there," they said.