The Ekiti State government has raised an alarm over eminent mass arrest of top government officials and leaders of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in the southwestern state. The PDP is Nigeria’s main opposition party and the party of Governor Ayodele Fayose.
According to a government press statement, e-mailed to The Trent on Sunday, July 10, there is a team of 20 policemen in Lagos preparing to storm Ekiti, Sunday morning, with the intention of arresting “members of Ekiti’s house of assembly, top government officials, and leaders of the PDP”.
The statement signed by Lere Olayinka, a spokesperson of Governor Fayose, says the planned arrest is in connection with a frivolous petition sent to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the All Progressives Congress, APC, over the campaign funds of the 2014 governorship elections in which the PDP defeated the APC.
The statement named a police officer, ACP Olusola Oke from the X Squad and another CSP Ayodeji as those leading the team to Ekiti State which is at the Alagbon Police Division in Lagos mobilizing for the operation. Mr. Oke is a native of Isan Ekiti, the hometown of former governor of Ekiti Kayode Fayemi. Fayose defeated Fayemi, who is Buhari’s minister of solid minerals, in the 2014 governorship elections.
The Ekiti government accuses Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria, Babafemi Ojudu, Yinka Akerele, and other APC chieftains of being the brain behind this plot to use organs of the federal government to settle political scores.
“The operation is allegedly being funded by a former governor from the South South while a prominent aide of President Muhammadu Buhari is said to be directly coordinating,” the statement said.
“All attempts by the APC to return to power through the backdoor will fail, adding that the party should rather prepare for 2018 instead of running from the Army, DSS, EFCC and now the police.”
