Scores of members of main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State yesterday protested the detention of the state’s former Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed at the Ilorin zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
EFCC had, since Monday, detained Ahmed for alleged diversion of N10 billion when he was governor between 2011 and 2019.
The protesters carried placards with different inscriptions to express their anger against the continued detention of the former governor.
Some of the messages read: “EFCC should stop being a tool in the hands of Abdulrazaq-led APC”; “Governor Ahmed was very transparent”; “EFCC is not a department in APC”; “EFCC, stop the harassment”; “The opposition cannot be silenced”; “Maigida will not join the APC, no matter the persecution”; “EFCC, don’t instigate political crisis in Kwara State”; “No to illegal detention”; “Respect the rule of law”, among others.
The protesters said Ahmed was being detained for more than legally accepted 48 hours without being charged to court.
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Led by the state’s PDP spokesperson Olusola Adebara, the protesters claimed that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was using the anti-graft agency to make the former governor defect.
Adebara said the protest was meant to express PDP’s displeasure against perceived persecution, alleging that the anti-graft agency was being used against the party.
The PDP chieftain claimed that the former governor was being denied food, medication and visitors.
But addressing the protesters, EFCC’s Zonal Commander Michael Nzekwe said Ahmed had not been able to meet the bail conditions of the anti-graft agency.
“We’re following the rule of law in keeping him,” he said.
The zonal commander also said the former governor would be charged to court as soon as investigation was concluded.
He added: “We’re wrapping up (investigation). Once we wrap up, the law would take its course. The anti-graft agency, being a creation of law, would not go contrary to law.
“Everything we’ve done is within the ambit of the law. The former governor is cooperating with us and we’re making good progress following rules of law.
“As I speak, he’s with his lawyer, a SAN. He attends to everyone who comes to see him. He has a doctor who has attended to him. He eats what he wants to eat.
“I urge you to allow the law to take its course. We’re neither partisan nor prompted by anybody.”