Commercial and vehicular activities were
paralysed in some parts of Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti
State capital on Thursday as some hoodlums
suspected to be members of the Road Transport
Employers Association of Nigeria and National
Union of Road Transport Workers, took to the
street apparently to foil a campaign rally
organised by a member of the House of
Representatives, Opeyemi Bamidele.
Bamidele, who represents Ekiti Central Federal
Constituency 1 at the National Assembly, was to
formally declare his governorship ambition in the
state on Thursday.
The hoodlums, who took to the streets as early as
7am, barricaded the Ajebandele Road, Ajilosun area
up to Okeyinmi junction in Ado-Ekiti.
The group, led by RTEAN state Chairman, Mr. Rotimi
Olabiwonu, brandished dangerous weapons such as
guns, cutlasses and clubs.
They drove dangerously around the town in a convoy
in a manner that traumatized the people and
intimidated other road users.
A detachment of the Police from the Ekiti State Police
Command later dispersed Bamidele’s supporters from
the venue of the rally. The heavily armed and stern
looking policemen used tear gas on Bamidele
supporters and also arrested some of them.
Majority of those who were arrested wore vests with
inscriptions such as ‘Ekiti Bibire Coalition’ and ‘MOB’
which are the political acronyms of Bamidele’s
campaign slogan.
The anti-riot policemen reportedly fired live bullets
into the air, thereby causing confusion with many
people scampering to safety and leaving many people
injured.
Some of those who sustained injuries were reportedly
rushed to a private hospital at Basiri area of Ado Ekiti.
Investigation showed that Bamidele arrived at Ado-
Ekiti enroute Akure at about 12:37pm in a long
convoy and was received by a large crowd of
supporters at Mobil area, Ajilosun.
The procession was initially peaceful with Bamidele
moving in a long convoy and responding to cheers
from his supporters.
Heavily armed policemen in patrol vans later
dispersed the crowd.
Bamidele’s governorship declaration was scheduled to
take off at Ajilosun and terminate at his Bibire
campaign headquarters.
Operatives of the State Security Service, the anti-riot
policemen and soldiers were drafted to some
flashpoints within the state capital.
In his reaction, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr.
Victor Babayemi, said the drivers had earlier struck in
the morning. He said, “The police must be proactive
to prevent breakdown of law and order.”
On the rally, he said, “Bamidele sought a permit from
the police to hold a meeting with his supporters and
party members and we wrote a letter to him that in-
as-much as we were giving him support and the
security he needed to hold the meeting, we referred
him to Section 99 of the Electoral Act 2011 as
amended.
“That particular section of the law says that no
political party should start campaign 90 days before
an election.
“Therefore, we told him to do whatever he wanted to
do within the confines of his secretariat. But to our
surprise it was not actually a meeting but a campaign
and the crowd spilled over to the road. They carried
placards and campaign posters in the form of a
procession.
“He started campaigning for the governorship office
that had not been declared vacant by the
Independent National Electoral Commission.
“We are duty-bound as law enforcement agents to
disperse that crowd. That assembly was a clear
violation of the Constitution.”
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State
has described the incident as unfortunate and
disappointing.
The state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Pastor Kola
Oluwawole, said, “The violence that erupted today is
unwarranted, condemnable and unfortunate. This is a
sign of what we would likely experience in 2014. The
PDP has been crying and calling the attention of the
public to the fact that the politics in Ekiti has become
violent under the present government.”
Source: Punch Nigeria
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