THE PEACE OF OUR LAND IS
NOT NEGOTIABLE
State Broadcast By
His Excellency
Dr. Kayode FAYEMI
Governor, Ekiti State, Nigeria
Following the Breach of Peace in
the State
Friday, September 26, 2014
Protocols
In o kun o Ekiti Kete.
It has become expedient that I
address you today on account
of dire happenings in the land
of honour, Ekiti State. With
tension mounting across the
state, Ekiti has been the subject
of alarming headlines in the
news, following the tragic
assault on the judiciary.
On Monday, September 22,
thugs acting on the incitement
of an interested party, were
involved in the sacrilegious
sacking of the court while
hearing on a political case was
in progress. This happened in
full glare of the law
enforcement agents with
inappropriate response. Clearly,
these brigands exceeded the
limits of acceptable behavior,
even in the most liberal of
democracies, and ventured into
the realm of blatant criminality
with this desecration of the
hallowed chambers of the law.
The fact that this assault did not
meet with any strong deterring
repercussions from the
appropriate authorities further
emboldened the miscreants.
They subsequently attempted to
prevent the Ekiti State
Governorship Election Petition
Tribunal from sitting, yesterday,
Thursday, September 25. I am
advised incontrovertibly that
thugs acting on the command
of Mr. Ayo Fayose, who was also
present to lend his clout to the
travesty, brazenly assaulted a
senior judge and urged his
thugs to beat him up and tear
his clothes.
The court premises was thrown
into confusion and those
present scurried away in search
of safety and security. This was
on the back of his specious
allegation that the judiciary in
the state is compromised and
biased against him. And the
answer to that was to resort to
jungle justice and take the laws
into his hands. This has led to
the closure of the courts
indefinitely due to the inability
of the security agencies to
guarantee the safety of lives
and property in our temples of
justice. With the entrenched
atmosphere of impunity,
violence in the state has
escalated with the unfortunate
loss of one life and the willful
damage to several properties to
arson by rampaging thugs.
Since the beginning of this
development on Monday, which
is unprecedented in the recent
history of our state, I have been
in touch with the Heads of all
Security Agencies at the State
and Federal levels, urging them
to act quickly and firmly in the
interest of public law and order.
It is worrisome that the slow
and inadequate response has
occasioned the avoidable
escalation of violence in our
dear state.
Against this backdrop, it is
understandable that not a few
stakeholders have expressed
concern about what the
development portends for our
dear state. The brazen
contempt of our hallowed law
courts and the use of violence
and intimidation to obstruct the
course of justice is a clear
invitation to anarchy of the
scale and texture that
characterized Ekiti State some
years ago. Ekiti Kete, are those
years upon us again?
Already, there is widespread
anxiety about this development
coming at a time the state is
going through the transitioning
out of one administration and
the ushering in of a new one.
This is a very delicate period
that all stakeholders must work
together to ensure Ekiti State
comes out stronger for it.
During periods of transition,
vital partners in progress adopt
a cautious posture, watching for
the slightest portents of the
possible discontinuity of the
regime of peace and tranquility,
amongst other factors that have
made our state conducive for
investors and development
partners. We must not disrupt
our very bright prospects for
sustained development in our
state.
Considering the cases that have
triggered the recent spate of
violence are politically related,
the political elite in our state
from all disparate quarters
must exercise caution. We must
rescue our state from the
precarious slippery slope that
some have desperately pushed
us to. We should not imperil the
very people we seek to serve by
resorting to violence and
brigandage. One does not burn
down his homestead to
establish his claim of ownership
or leadership.
Most assuredly, the course of
Justice can only be delayed, but
can never be truncated. The
independence of the Judiciary is
an inviolable tenet of any
democracy. Accordingly, I have
this morning directed the
Attorney General of the state to
issue a legal advisory to the
Chief Judge of the state and all
the parties to the existing cases
in the State High Court and the
Ekiti State Governorship
Elections Petitions Tribunal, on
the desirability of seeking an
alternative venue for the
hearing of these cases outside
Ekiti State. The State can no
longer afford to witness the
bizarre spectacle of the beating
up of judicial officers and
wanton intimidation of lawyers
and court personnel.
Now that the security agencies
appear to be fully seized of the
situation, I call on them not to
relent in performing their
constitutional role of protecting
lives and property in our state.
Administrations come and go;
politics can be frenetic when the
stakes are high; but by the
grace of the Almighty God, our
state remains for all time,
therefore THE PEACE OF OUR
LAND IS NOT NEGOTIABLE.
Ekiti Kete, consistent with our
history of unity and love, let us
work together to make our state
a garden of concord where our
children and their children will
dwell in peace and safety. Even
in the pursuit of politics and
justice, let us conduct ourselves
as kinsmen, bound by a shared
love for Ekitiland but differing
only in the choice of
instruments by which to
accomplish the same goal.
Let us then temper our
competitive zeal with civility and
empathy. Let us deal truthfully
with our youth, who are so
liable to be led astray by
unbridled political fervour, by
seeing them as our children
rather than as conscripts or
fodder for our objectives.
Ekiti Kete, in order to forestall
further descent into anarchy in
our state, I am taking the very
difficult decision to suspend the
‘Thank You’ tour which I’m
undertaking as part of our
transitioning-out formalities.
Also, I have taken the decision
to institute a dusk to dawn
curfew in the state immediately.
Accordingly, there would be no
movement between the hours
of 7.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m.
everyday till further notice. We
urge the citizenry to be vigilant
and provide the security
agencies with details of
suspicious activities that can
undermine the peace in our
state.
Let us work together to stop the
violence and brigandage that
has brought about serious
embarrassment to our state in
the last few days.
Let Peace Reign in the land of
honour, Ekiti State.
God bless Ekiti State.
God bless the Federal Republic
of Nigeria.
Dr. Kayode Fayemi
Governor, Ekiti State
Friday, September 26,2014