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| Victims of the attack |
O dikwa very serious!
According to report by PUNCH,
thugs today invade an Ekiti state court to disrupt proceedings in a case
challenging the eligibility of the Governor-elect, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, to
contest the June 21 governorship election, even though Fayose has since won the
election.
Find the report after the cut…
The invasion took place shortly
after the judge, Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi, refused an application to set aside
an order abridging the time for the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate to
file his defence in the case filed on behalf of socio-political group, Ekiti-11
by a member, Mr. Femi Ajakaiye.
The judge had adjourned sitting
till 12 noon to prepare a ruling in a similar matter filed by the Citizen
Popular Party before trouble started.
As he was preparing to return for
the continuation of the matter, angry youths besieged the court. The judge was
smuggled out of the chambers through the back door to avoid being lynched by
the aggressors.
Judges, lawyers and others in
court, including journalists, ran for their lives as the protesters went berserk
and went after perceived opponents of the PDP.
It could not be confirmed if the
police made any arrest.
The hoodlums numbering about a
hundred were aggrieved about the perceived partiality of the judge handling the
case.
In the ensuing melee, the Chairman
of Ado West Local Council Development Authority, Mr. Sunday Ibitoye, and
Ajakaye, were attacked.
The hoodlums had earlier engaged
in an argument with securitry officials in the court room for preventing some
of them from entering the court while allowing others in.
The rampaging youths, who called
the trial judge all sorts of unprintable names, alleged that he was partial in
handling the matter for showing interest beyond official reasons.
The judge, who had assumed
jurisdiction in the case had ruled that he could not reverse his decision to
abridge the time as the court had become “functus officio” having taken a
decision on the issue.
Contrary to the argument by the
PDP, the court said the decision to abridge the time did not contravene Section
32 of the 1999 Constitution.
Justice Ogunyemi said the PDP and
Fayose failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the reasons why the court could
not hear the substantive suit.
The judge consequently dismissed
the PDP’s application, saying the court could not set aside its own ruling of
June 6, and that the time frame had been overtaken by events, which he maintained
had rendered the whole exercise a mere academic exercise.
Commenting, the Interim Chairman
of the All Progressives Congress, Jide Awe, said, “We are back to the Idi Amin
era in Ekiti where judges and lawyers are attacked in court. This is terrible.
“But the APC has no case in the
court and we were not there to witness the attack.”
Also commenting, the PDP
Publicity Secretary, Kola Oluwawole, urged Justice Ogunyemi to steer clear of
the case alleging that he had connived with the ruling APC.
Accusing the judge of bias,
Oluwawole said, “The judge openly demonstrated in his ruling that he has
jurisdiction on the matter and simultaneously commenced hearing of the matter
without giving the respondent the opportunity to signify an appeal.
“The PDP also condemns the
barbaric action of the APC thugs who attacked voters that voluntarily voted for
Ayo Fayose in the last governorship election.”
Source: PUNCH
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