Hoodlums Loyal To Fayose Invade Court In Ekiti, Chase Out Trial Judge

One of the victims of the attack

Hoodlums said to be loyal to Ekiti State Governor elect, Ayodele Peter Fayose yesterday stormed the State High Court, where they chased out the trial judge in a case challenging his eligibility in the June 21 election conducted in the state. The thugs also beat up litigants.

The court session was thrown into a state of confusion when the trial judge, Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi, ruled earlier in the day that the court  had jurisdiction to hear the matter and subsequently ordered the two parties to prepare for hearing in the case by 1pm.

While reacting to the incident, the Interim Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Jide Awe, told Punch, “We are back to the Idi Amin era in Ekiti where judges and lawyers are attacked in court. This is terrible.

“But the APC has no case in the court and we were not there to witness the attack.”

In his own reaction, the PDP Publicity Secretary, Kola Oluwawole, accused Justice Ogunyemi of bias and asked him disqualify himself from the case.

“The judge openly demonstrated in his ruling that he has jurisdiction on the matter and simultaneously commenced hearing of the matter without giving the respondent the opportunity to signify an appeal,” Mr. Oluwawole told THE PUNCH.

“The PDP also condemns the barbaric action of the APC thugs who attacked voters that voluntarily voted for Ayo Fayose in the last governorship election.

On Tuesday, the litigant, E-Eleven, issued a statement describing the incident as representing another low for Ekiti State.

“This ugly episode represents another low in the image of Ekiti in the eyes of the world. Gradually Ekiti is once again becoming a laughing stock while our claim to honour, integrity and intellectual sophistication is being thrown to the dogs,” the group said through its chairman, Femi Ajiniran.

“To us, this is a big shame! Our long cherished values were once debased and nearly destroyed. It has taken some effort thus far to redeem those values. Another era of value wreckage is again at hand.”