The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has petitioned the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke; the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba; and the Independent National Electoral Commission asking them to prosecute persons involved in conspiring and perpetrating acts to unseat former Governor Kayode Fayemi in a manner other than that envisaged by the Constitution.
In the petition by the State Chairman of the APC, Chief Olajide Awe, dated February 13, 2015, the party called their attention to an audio recording by Captain Sagir Koli of the 32 Artillery Brigade based in Akure, Ondo State, which was released to the public capturing the voices of Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State; the Commanding Officer of 32 Artillery Brigade, Brigadier General Aliyu Momoh; Senator Iyiola Omisore; Police Affairs Minister, Jelili Adesiyan; a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro; and others in a meeting where they strategised to rig the June 21, 2014 governorship election in favour of Fayose.
The APC asked INEC to investigate the matter and prosecute its staff involved to bring them to justice for offences against the Electoral Act.
It also asked the police authorities to investigate their personnel for the act of undue influence, conspiracy, treason and breaching the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and Criminal Code in the prosecution of the Ekiti State election in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate.
Awe pointed out that the import of the audio was the revelation of the criminal acts that were planned and perpetrated by these men, stressing that the act contravened Section 1(2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
According to him, the Section says: “The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any person or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.”
Awe said during the meeting, strategies and plans to intimidate voters to perform electoral fraud were hatched to take over control of the government of Ekiti State in a manner contrary to the provisions of the constitution and other relevant statutes.
The APC chairman listed infractions of the constitution as perpetrated by the accused as follows: The use of the military to assist in electoral manipulation contrary to the purpose of the military as provided for by the Constitution; the use of stickers for the identification of persons not to be harassed and detained by the military; and Ayo Fayose admitting to copying voting materials provided by INEC.
Others included the reprimand of the military personnel for detaining members of the PDP who were engaged in electoral fraud and malpractices and Obanikoro clearly stating that he was under instructions from the President Goodluck Jonathan to influence the election in Fayose’s favour, while also offering promises of promotion to the military personnel if the plans discussed were carried out.
Awe pointed out that the tape had gone viral on the Internet, even as he advised the minister of justice and others to check the link via visiting https://soundcloud.com/
Pointing out that the issues highlighted were in clear violations of the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, Electoral Act, the Armed Forces Act and the Criminal Code, all amounting to criminal conspiracy and treason, the party urged Adoke to investigate the matter to bring persons involved to justice.
It warned that failure to act would compel the party to approach the court to seek an Order of Mandamus compelling the attorney general to so act.
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