Mediaboss Marketing

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dragged the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over alleged attack on its members and supporters in the state.

The commission has restated its determination to ensure that anybody found culpable of promoting violence and hate speech is prosecuted no matter how highly placed.

In a petition submitted to the commission by the APC Secretary in Ekiti State, Omotosho Ayodele, the party accused the governor of sponsoring political violence in the state including the use of thugs to physically attack and intimidate opposition party members in the state.

According to Ayodele, "we are over the present political situation in Ekiti State, we, Nigerians, are all busy praying for peace, but what we have in Ekiti State is a clear departure from that. The commission is clamouring for violence-free polls, and we are aware of the determination of the commission to bring perpetrators of violence in the polls to book. Unfortunately, the person who is supposed to be the chief security officer in Ekiti State is the person perpetrating this violence in the state. Fayose's boys are always on the streets attacking people, damaging vehicles and houses; in spite of various petitions to the police, nothing has been done.

"Governor Fayose does his things with impunity and nobody challenges him, and with what we have seen so far, we can no longer guarantee violence-free elections in Ekiti State. The activities of Fayose are undermining the peace pact signed by our Presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and President Goodluck Jonathan," he added.

He further alleged that "on January 21,2015, Fayose's thugs and members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) dressed in army and police uniforms backed by policemen attached to the Government House ransacked and vandalised APC Secretariat on Ajilosun Street, Ado-Ekiti, while the security guards on duty were physically assaulted. On January 24, Adeleke Samson, a student's union leader, who attended APC Presidential rally in Ado-Ekiti with his colleagues, was attacked by Mr. Fayose's thugs. He had a life-threatening injuries on his head.

While receiving the petition, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Prof. Ben Angwe, restated the commission's determination to bring the promoters of violence and hate speech during and after the 2015 general elections to book.

His words: "The National Human Rights Commission is for all Nigerians, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, and political affiliation. I want to commend you for taking this cause of action and not taking the laws into your hands. Your allegations are against a sitting governor, which have consequences, because if they are false, they portend serious consequences, and if they are true they still have consequences.

"We at the commission are not happy about these allegations, we are determined to ensure that people get justice whenever their rights are abused. It will be sad if the allegations are proved against an executive governor who has sworn an oath to protect lives and properties.

"Africa should move away from the days of President Idi Amin of Uganda where people's rights are trampled upon with impunity. Nigeria has empowered the commission to ensure that impunity is stamped out, and by this singular act of empowering the commission to do its job, we are committed to ensuring that the culture of impunity is a thing of the past.

See the rest here:
Nigeria: Alleged Violence - APC Drags Fayose to Rights Commission