The Workers’ Day in Ekiti State which took place inside the main bowl of Oluyemi Kayode Stadium in Ado Ekiti recorded poor attendance as many workers stayed away from the event.
Related Post: Hunger in Ekiti Civil service: I will pay if… – Governor
A side attraction was Governor Ayodele Fayose’s appearance at the annual gathering of civil servants.
See photo below:
The Federal High Court in Ekiti state has dismissed a suit seeking to restrain the police from investigating a criminal suspect because “no citizen’s liberty is absolute”.
Justice Taiwo O. Taiwo held that the court cannot bar the police from doing its work or shield anyone from criminal investigation or probe.
Doing so, he said, would amount to interfering with the constitutional powers granted security agencies, especially the police.
“If a court accedes to the request of an applicant and grants injunctive orders restraining criminal investigation and/or prosecution, the court may create an outlaw out of such a person and this could lead to a general breakdown of law and order,” he said
Justice Taiwo ruled on a fundamental rights suit brought by Mr Idowu Olayemi against the Ekiti State Police Commissioner, the investigating police officer (IPO) Corporal Akingbade Adeniyi and the complainant Dada Segun.
The plaintiff sought a declaration that his arrest and torture by the police from last November 26 to 27 at Segun’s instigation was a breach of his fundamental rights and therefore illegal.
He sought an order restraining the police from further arresting or detaining him, an order directing the respondents to apologise to him, and pay him N5million damages.
Olayemi said Segun falsely accused him of stealing his N300, 000, following which he was arrested, detained and tortured.
But, Justice Taiwo held that there was nothing wrong with the police arresting the suspect as it is statutorily empowered to receive criminal complaints and investigate crime, adding that Olayemi was granted bail.
The judge added: “I do not see any reason to believe that the applicant was tortured by the second and third respondents. There are no facts before the court. There is no medical record showing infliction of pain on the body of the applicant. I dare say that general and wide allegations of such breach or infringement will not suffice.
“I, therefore, hold that the applicant has not succeeded in proving illegal arrest, torture, harassment or threat to kill him on the instructions of the first respondent.”
Justice Taiwo awarded a cost of N25,000 to Segun, which he incurred in the case, and warned the police against re-arresting Olayemi having granted him bail, but to charge him to court if there is evidence against him.
The people of Bayelsa State and their Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, have been thrown into mourning following the death of the state’s first Military Administrator, Navy Capt. Philip Ayeni.
Dickson in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, condoled with the immediate family, the Government and people of Ekiti State over Ayeni’s death.
The late Ayeni, who was the pioneer Military Administrator when Bayelsa was created by the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha in October, 1996, reportedly died last Thursday, after a protracted illness.
Dickson described Ayeni’s death as untimely, painful and devastating, saying it happened at a time, the state was beginning to reap the benefits of the policies he initiated as the administrator.
He said though, the tenure of Ayeni was cut short by his health challenges, he meant well for the state and had genuine intentions to put the Bayelsa on a sound, progressive and worthy pedestal.
Dickson said successive administrations had continued to build on the plans, policies and programmes of Ayeni to give Bayelsa its pride of place.
He recalled that, in appreciation of his pacesetting roles and sacrifices, the state government recently built, furnished and presented a befitting residential apartment to Ayeni at his country home in Ekiti.
He said: “To us in Bayelsa State, Retired Navy Captain Philip Ayeni remains one of our heroes, because it takes a lot of courage, sacrifice, commitment and genuine love for a people, to be able do the little, he did at the time.
“And from the available facts and records, he would have done a lot more, but for the health challenges that abruptly ended his tenure and clearly his good intentions too for our state.
“So, for a such a leader and personality, my government and indeed, the people of Bayelsa State will stand shoulder to shoulder with his family and the government and the people of Ekiti State”
He pointed out that, the beautiful and wonderful story of Bayelsa State would never be complete, without the pioneering legacies and efforts of Ayeni, adding that, the Government and people of the state would remain ever grateful to him.
Dickson assured the government and people of Ekiti of the continued support of Bayelsans and prayed for God’s grace to guide, protect and strengthen the deceased family.
An officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Ekiti State, Sunday Afolabi, was shot dead in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, by unknown gunmen on Wednesday.
An insider in Ekiti Command of NSCDC who craved anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter alleged that Afolabi was killed by his assailants along Afao Road at about 3.30 pm.
But the state police command said Afolabi was killed by suspected “cult boys.” His body was deposited at the mortuary by some policemen who visited the scene after the killing.
NSCDC spokesman Tolu Afolabi confirmed the killing to reporters on Thursday. He said investigation has been launched into the incident in a bid to unmask the killers of the officer.
The late Afolabi, who served in the Intelligence and Investigation Unit of Ekiti NSCDC, was reportedly shot in the heart. He is survived by a wife and a one-month-old baby.
The slain officer who was said to be 35 years of age joined the security agency in 2010. He hailed from Ayegbaju-Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area of the state.
The incident cast a thick pall of grief on the NSCDC Ekiti Command headquarters where officers and men gathered in groups discussing the incident in hushed tones.
NSCDC spokesman said: “Unknown gunmen have killed an officer of NSCDC, Sunday Afolabi, an Assistant Superintendent Corps 1 (ASC1), along Afao Road, Ado Ekiti at about 1530 on Wednesday, 19th April, 2017.
“The officer was shot in the heart and his corpse has been deposited at the mortuary while investigation continues.”
When contacted, police spokesman Alberto Adeyemi disclosed that the late Afolabi was killed by suspected cult boys along Afao Road.
Adeyemi said: “I have just spoken with OC-SARS and he said the cult boys killed the person along Afao Road where the NSCDC office is located.
“We sympathize with our sister security agency on the killing of the officer. Investigation has commenced into the incident.”
…Their allegation frivolous, says Fayose’s faction
The secretariat of Ekiti State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) faction loyal to the National Chairman Senator Ali Modu Sheriff was on Wednesday attacked by people suspected to be political thugs.
The building located at Nova Road junction in Adebayo area of Ado Ekiti, the state capital was vandalized in the early hours of the day with some facilities destroyed in the process.
The invaders scaled the fence to gain entrance into the compound and smashed all the glass windows and uprooted all the flag poles and tore the PDP flags hoisted on them.
The vandalized secretariat is the operational base of the Williams Ajayi-led faction loyal to Sheriff. The other faction led by Gboyega Oguntuase which is loyal to Senator Ahmed Makarfi is also backed by Governor Ayo Fayose.
An Ado Ekiti Federal High Court on January 24 declared the Ajayi-led group as the authentic state executive of the party ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to do business with it.
But the Court of Appeal in Ado Ekiti last week ordered a stay of execution and held that the two factions should maintain the status quo pending the determination of the substantive suit before it
Speaking with reporters on the attack, the Deputy Chairman of the Ajayi faction, Olasunkanmi Ogunbiyi, alleged that the attack was carried out by the faction backed by Fayose calling on security agencies to up their game and prevent breakdown of law and order.
Ogunbiyi said: “We left the office on Tuesday at about 6pm and only to return today around 7am and saw the flags erected brought down. The assailants scaled the fence and destroyed all the flags and the louvre blades of our office.
“They even made spirited efforts to gain entry into the office, but they could not. As we speak now, our lives are being threatened and we want the public to be aware of this.
“However, we had inkling that our office will be attacked with the threat issued by one of the Oguntuase’s executive to us when we met recently at the Court of Appeal that our office will be attacked.
“Last week also, Governor Fayose went to a nearby spot within the vicinity of the office and distributed rice to the people. We are sure that the Oguntuase’s people are behind this and we need a prompt action from the security agencies”.
But the spokesman of the Oguntuase faction, Jackson Adebayo, denied the accusation claiming that “erosion and rainstorm” might have affected the secretariat describing the allegation as “frivolous.”
Adebayo said: “I saw what they are calling the press for and I concluded that they are still in shock how they got to that sorry pass.
“There were storm and erosion, which affected their building and they are claiming that reasonable people would leave their jobs to be digging their fences and destroying blocks.
“They should be pitied rather than responded to because there’s no such thing as what they are alleging.”
Ekiti State Government on Tuesday issued a 15-day ultimatum to nine micro finance banks to recover the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) loans disbursed to their customers across the state.
A former regent of Ayebode-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Chief Idowu Omolayo on Tuesday urged a Customary Court sitting in Ikole-Ekiti to dissolve her marriage of 39 years with Chief Olusola Omolayo.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the husband was a member of the Ekiti House of Assembly from 2003 to 2007.
The 60 years old former regent was seeking dissolution on the ground of constant fighting, public disgrace and no proper care of the family by the husband.
According to her, she once attempted to divorce her husband in 2004, but the town chiefs, family members and the court prevailed on her and she withdrew the divorce suit.
She said that she could no longer withstand the beatings from her husband, in spite of the fact that no dowry was paid on her, adding that the association had produced four grown up boys.
The President of the Court, Mrs Yemisi Ojo asked, “what if court makes an order that your husband stops beating you and pays your dowry so that the matter be settled amicably?”
She insisted that she wanted to separate from her husband before he killed her.
However, the defendant denied all the allegations, saying he was trying his best to take care of his family in his capacity.
“Although my wife sometimes assist me in paying the children’s school fees when I do not have money on me.
“But as a father and husband, I try my best to take care and do my fatherly responsibilities within my capacity,” he said.
Ruling on the matter, the court president said that both parties should produce their witnesses in the next adjourned date.
She added that the plaintiff must come with two of her children, emphasising that the second born must be one of them.
She adjourned the case till May 15, for continuation of hearing.
The Police in Ekiti on Monday charged one Emmanuel Bolodeoku, before a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ado-Ekiti, for allegedly exhuming the corpse of his wife.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the police prosecutor, Insp. Caleb Leranmo, told the court that the accused committed the offence on March 17, at New Iyin Area in Ado-Ekiti.
Leranmo alleged that the accused improperly and indecently interfered with the corpse of his late wife, Oyinola Bolodeoku, buried a year ago.
The defendant allegedly exhumed the corpse and kept it in a ‘Ghana Must Go’ bag.
He said the accused committed the offence which is punishable under Section 242 (1) b of Criminal Code, Cap C16, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.
He also alleged that the accused did ‘vitiate the atmosphere, so as to make it harmful to the health of persons in the neighbourhood, when he brought the decomposed corpse of his wife in a bag to the neighbourhood’.
According to him, he has therefore committed an offence punishable under Section 247 of the Criminal Code, Cap C16, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.
The prosecutor applied for a date of adjournment to enable him study the case file and assemble his three witnesses.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge, while his counsel, Mr Busuyi Ayorinde, applied for his bail, promising the Court that he would not jump bail.
The Chief Magistrate, Mr Adesoji Adegboye, granted bail to the accused in the sum of N100,000 with one surety in like sum, who must have a verifiable address, within the jurisdiction of the court.
He, then, adjourned the case till April 24, for hearing.
A wife, Sayo Akomolafe, on Monday told Ikole-Ekiti Customary Court in Ekiti State that her husband beats her constantly for not having a male child.
She pleaded with the court to dissolve her marriage to her husband Segun Akomolafe due to neglect, lack of care and constant beating.
She said trouble started when her husband discovered that she was pregnant with a girl-child for the fifth time.
The plaintiff said her husband, who never beat her before, used her as punching bag because she could not give him a male child.
“I gave birth to my first child 13 years ago, but my husband started neglecting me and the children when I gave birth to the fifth girl-child.
“As a result, he married two other women and ever since they arrived, I have no peace again in the house”, she said.
She said the two wives also gave birth to female children.
Sayo added that she later gave birth to the sixth child – a boy- for the same man.
The defendant, a welder; denied constantly beating her, saying that trouble started when his wife discovered that he married other women.
The three-member panel of the court headed by Mrs Yemisi Ojo, however, told the husband that the chromosome released by man is what determines the sex of a child.
Ojo also ruled that the aggrieved parties and their families should go back home to deliberate on how to take care of the six children.
“The court is disposed to settlement outside court and this case being a fresh matter, parties are given the opportunity to deliberate on how take care of the children”, she said.
The court ordered that the defendant must not beat his wife again and adjourned the case till May 8, for report of settlement.
The Police on Friday arraigned one James Blessing, 36 and Ogunsakin Mary, 50 before a Chief Magistrate’s Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti over abduction.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the police prosecutor, Sgt. Bankole Olasunkanmi, told the Court that the accused and others at large, committed the offence between January and February, 2017 at Ado-Ekiti, Iworoko-Ekiti and Are-Ekiti in Ekiti State.
Olasunkanmi said the accused unlawfully took possession of one Amodu Success, 17, without the consent of her parents and held her for the purpose of prostitution and sexual labour.
He said the victim was sent on errand by her parent, but a motorcyclist came her way and beat her until she became unconscious.
He added that the man took her to the house of one of the accused, Ogunsakin Mary, where she spent two days before taking her to Are-Ekiti.
“It was in Are-Ekiti that the first accused and others at large used her for prostitution and sex labour.’’
He said the offence was punishable under Section 30 (a) of the Child Rights Law of Ekiti State 2012.
The prosecutor applied for a date to enable him to duplicate the case file and send to the office of Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice.
The plea was not taken as there was no counsel to defend the accused.
The Chief Magistrate, Mr Idowu Ayenimo, ordered that the accused should be remanded in prison, pending the response from DPP.
He adjourned the case till April 12 for hearing.