Four lawmakers of the Ekiti state House of Assembly were on Friday, arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services.
The lawmakers were arrested in connection to the alleged fraudulent activities that transpired before, during and after the last governorship election in the state.
A former Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Dr. Temitope Aluko, had recently turned whistle-blower, by going on national television to state that former President Goodluck Jonathan gave Governor Ayo Fayose $35m to prosecute the June 21, 2014 election.
Aluko also alleged that Jonathan gave Fayose another $2m to facilitate his victory at the Peoples Democratic Party governorship primary election.
Fayose was alleged to have used the funds to manipulate and corrupt security agencies into working for him and moving against the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.
Aluko had further given the DSS some names of Fayose’s loyalists whom he claimed were involved in the shady process that led to his election as governor.
This revelations led to the arrest of the lawmakers- which include the State House of Assembly member representing Efon Alaye Constituency, Afolabi Akanni and Musa Arogundade, who represents Ado Ekiti Constituency 1, among others.
Chairman of State Internal Revenue Board, Ropo Ogunjobi, who was recently sacked by Fayose, is also believed to be in the custody of the DSS.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House, Rt Honourable Kolawole Oluwawole, has interpreted the arrests as ‘abductions’.
He said over 10 DSS operatives shot sporadically into the air while carrying the alleged abduction.
“More than 10 DSS men, armed to the teeth, invaded the Assembly Complex, shooting sporadically into the air, thereby causing panic among members and staff of the House of Assembly, who had to scamper to safety. At the end of the commotion, we discovered that four of our members could not be found.”
“It was only this morning that we were able to establish that Hon Afolabi Akanni, representing Efon Constituency, was abducted and taken to Abuja. The whereabouts of three other members remain unknown as we speak, and reasons for the invasion and abduction of our members are not known.”
Oluwawole said the aim of the security agency is to intimidate the lawmakers due to the governor’s almost daily criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The plot is to harass, intimidate and embarrass top officials of the Ayodele Fayose government because of the governor’s critical stance on the Buhari’s government.”
“We are aware that 18 of our members have been pencilled down for harassment and the game plan is to harass them to submission, with a view to coercing them into signing an already prepared notice of impeachment of the governor and his deputy.”
