The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has charged the Ekiti State Police Command to prosecute the suspected thugs loyal to Governor Ayo Fayose who allegedly unleashed terror on Igbemo-Ekiti community on Thursday night, even as those unlawfully detained had been admitted to bail.
In the attacks, many APC members and innocent members of the community were wounded.
Houses of APC members were attacked and a car belonging to Igbemo Ward Chairman of the APC was damaged, while four APC members were abducted in the night attack.
The APC Publicity Secretary in the state, Taiwo Olatubosun, said in a statement that after APC members lodged a complaint at the Igbemo Police Post and later at Iworoko Police Station, the victims were later re-invited at the police headquarters in Ado-Ekiti where they were placed under arrest while the perpetrators of the violence rushed to the state Police Headquarters to lodge a complaint that they were signage officials who were prevented from carrying out their lawful duties.
Olatubosun’s words: “Our members were attacked and their houses were destroyed. The attackers fired gunshots at them Thursday night till early Friday, while the abducted Igbemo citizens were dumped at the Special Anti Robbery Squad detention cell since the wee hours of the morning and were only temporarily releasedFriday evening.
“The thugs suspected to be working for Mr. Fayose who attacked them were the first to rush to State Headquarters to lodge a false complaint against them that they were on signage duty when Igbemo people attacked them. One of the thugs who did most of the shooting with a pump action gun was seen in pictures with a bandage feigning head injury.
“The victims that were released were rearrested on Saturday on the orders of the Commissioner of Police who said their houses should be searched because there was a complaint of gun running against them. We wonder the connection between signage officials and petition against perceived opponents for gun running.”
Olatubosun explained that it was the meeting convened by the Commissioner of Police between Igbemo community leaders and the signage agency that it became clear that the Ekiti signage agency was a shield for thugs bearing arms to terrorise Igbemo and other communities in Ekiti State.
He added that victims of the attack were able to identify some of the assailants at the meeting, as they came as staff of the agency under the leadership of one Ariyo Emmanuel as their Director, adding that one Emeka was identified as one of those who shot at houses in Igbemo Ekiti.
Olatubosun added: “When the police authorities asked Ariyo if policemen accompanied his officers to Igbemo as official cover for enforcement, he answered in the negative; yet there were gunshots from them, which confirmed our earlier alarm that Governor Fayose operates a parallel militia different from the conventional police and DSS. This is why thugs went into houses of innocent citizens in the dead of the night to abduct them.
“This is a reckless abuse of executive power. The people who languished in detention are the same people whose property and houses were vandalised and who were traumatized in the all-night shooting while the thugs who attacked them have turned the complainants and moving about freely. This is double jeopardy and injustice.
“We urge the police to do proper investigation about the purported signage official identified at the Police headquarters as Emeka and his cohorts. They must be prosecuted and the APC will take all legitimate action to get justice for the traumatized Igbemo citizens. Peace can only reign where there is justice and we urge the police to be impartial in the handling of the matters concerning the lives of the citizens.”