The governorship primaries of the major political parties in Ekiti have come and gone but not without some happenings which raised serious tension among the citizens of the state. Events leading to both primaries of the parties and the security situation have all pointed to possible breakdown of law and order.
In view of this, when the news of the arrest of some political thugs enroute Ekiti State filtered in, residents and political watchers expressed misgivings and shock that political actors could plan to unleash mayhem on the people they were struggling to lead and control.
The armed thugs numbering ninety eight were intercepted when entering Ekiti State for the primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). They were arrested at about 3am on January 26, a few hours to the commencement of accreditation and voting in the party’s shadow poll meant to elect a candidate for the June 18 governorship poll.
Loaded in about eleven commercial buses, the military men at the Itawure-Ekiti checkpoint got suspicious of the movement at that hour and flagged them, asking basic and fundamental questions which they could not provide convincing answers to.
After a search of the buses where incriminating weapons were found, they had no option but to reveal their mission and where they were coming from. According to them, they were coming from Oyo state and heading to Ado-Ekiti, the state capital for the PDP primaries.
The thugs, who were suspected to be commercial drivers and motorcyclists were moved to the headquarters of the 32 Artillery Brigade in Akure, the state capital. They were kept in the military facility until Friday last week when the suspects were released to the police command in Ekiti state.
Parading the suspects on Monday before they were arraigned in court, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) ASP Sunday Abutu confirmed that the suspects confessed to have been allegedly mobilised and armed to the state by an individual in Oyo state for the governorship primary of one of the leading political parties. Abutu who revealed that investigation has commenced in a bid to arrest the unnamed person from the Oyo state.
According to him, items such as Two pump action guns ; Three locally made pistols , Six dane guns ,ninety eight live cartridges, knives,cutlasses, and substance suspected to be charms with other dangerous weapons were recovered from them.
One of the suspects during the parade told Saturday Tribune that they were from two different groups mobilised for the governorship primary. He said on the fateful day members of the group had received a message through their WhatsApp platform to converge at a popular junction in Ibadan at about 1am for a journey to Ekiti and to support a particular candidate in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) during their primary election.
He said their mission and mandate was to go and unleash mayhem on members of the party and distrupt the process when it was not going in favour of the preferred aspirant they were asked to support.
Describing their arrest as very unfortunate, the suspect said immediately they were intercepted by the military they were whisked away from the scene to the 32-Artillery Brigade barrack in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, where they spent three days before they were later handed over to the police at the Ekiti State Command.
On their experiences at the Akure military barrack, the suspect said they were dumped at a space within the barracks with their two hands tied together and were later locked in two rooms in the night.
He said, “ We were engaged from Ibadan to come to Ekiti state to cause violence and scatter the PDP primary on that day but you can see how it ended now, it is very sad but we have told police the person who sent us to Ekiti. At the police command headquarters, we were locked up in a room with 50-men capacity, though there were ventilation, but they only served us with a loaf of bread in a day, no water to drink after the bread.”
When asked the comparison of their experiences with the two security operatives, he said “the police were friendly with us and sharing series of experiences and jokes with us, but the Akure military men didn’t joke with us they dumped us in a place without attending to us, they didn’t obtain any statement from us.
“But the police informed us immediately we were handed over to them that we should be patient that we would likely be taken to court.”
A police source told Saturday Tribune that had it been they were not arrested, it would have been a bloody PDP primary in the state. The source noted that the information from the suspects suggested that they had been given a clear directive to unleash mayhem on the people and not allow the exercise to take place.
“If you hear what these people are saying, you will thank God for people of Ekiti that they were not allowed into the state. They had been mobilised and ready to do the worst on that day if not the military that were on ground that night.
“It is really a sad situation that our people could still be hiring thugs for the purpose of election to attack the people they want to lead and preside over. Very unfortunate but we thank God that our military men were vigilant on duty even at 3am to intercept them, “ the police who preferred anonymity said.
After their parade , the police arraigned the 98 suspects before Ekiti Chief Magistrate Court for threat of violence and unlawful possession of firearms.
The defendants are facing a four-count charge of threatening violence, armed in public without lawful occasion, embark on unlawful procession and unlawful possession of firearms. The police prosecutor, Samson Osubu, submitted that the defendants, while in eleven vehicles did embark on unlawful procession from Ibadan, Oyo State, heading to Ado-Ekiti to disrupt the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary election.
According to him, “ the offences contravene Sections 516, 80, 88 and Section 4 and Punishable under Section 27(b) (c) of Firearms Act Laws of Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004.”
The prosecutor asked the court for an adjournment to enable him study the case file and assemble his witnesses.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them and that through their counsels, Mr Odunayo Okunade, Mr Busuyi Ayorinde and Mr Chris Omokhafe, respectively, urged the court to grant them bail, with a promise that they would not jump bail.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Titilayo Ola-Olorun, in her ruling, granted the defendants bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties each in like sum and adjourned the case till February 23,2022 for mention.
While saying the commissioner of police, Tunde Mobayo commended the Nigerian military for their gallantry, support and cooperation in ensuring that the state remained peaceful and secured, the PPRO reiterated the command’s commitment to the safety of lives and property of the citizens.
Police must investigate, punish sponsors —Ekiti PDP
The Publicity Secretary of PDP in the state, Mr Rafael Adeyanju, who expressed regret over the incident, called on the police to intensify efforts at arresting the sponsors of the suspected thugs.
Adeyanju said the opposition party would not condone or sponsor any act of thuggery, which he said was not in tandem with any democratic norm and practice.
He said, “ It is very bad and condemnable because it is anti-democratic. We are not happy with what happened and whoever that was behind that act.
“But I don’t want to link it with our party because those people might be coming to disrupt any of the primaries of PDP or APC, but all we know is that they were coming to disrupt the democratic process.
“I want the police to do a thorough investigation to unravel those behind it. Their sponsors should be arrested and prosecuted with those thugs. I trust the judiciary to do justice to serve as deterrent to others planning such in the future.”
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