Police prohibit street protests in Ekiti

From Tope Musowo, Ado-Ekiti

There was apprehension and confusion in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital, on Wednesday, as residents of the town witnessed heavy presence of police and soldiers in parts of the town, especially at the Fajuyi square area, where the high court complex is also located.

The Police had, in a statement on Wednesday, said it had a report that there were street protests planned by striking civil servants in the state and cautioned against such.

The statement, signed on behalf of the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Taiwo Lakanu, by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Victor Babayemi, said “the command is in receipt of an intelligent report that civil servants are planning to embark on street protest in the state, to press home their demand for the payment of their outstanding salary arrears and allowances.”

Following this, the police deployed officers and men around the high court area. Also, the gates of the judiciary complex were manned by soldiers, policemen and men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

However, nobody, including judicial officers, was prevented from entering the court premises.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it “has not been vindicated that the outgoing government in the state is bent on causing mayhem.”

The PDP, in a statement in Ado-Ekiti, on Wednesday, said “Wednesday’s filing of a suit by the cronies of the APC at an Abuja High Court has shown that the party and its members are enemies of peace and democracy.”

In the statement by its Publicity Secretary, Pastor Kola Oluwawole, the state chapter of the party said, “Nigerians should note that APC and its allies are bent on fomenting trouble in the state.”