Update on Ekiti 2018: DIG admits Police halted PDP rally

The more the Police attempt to counter the report on attack by security men on Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State in the build up to the Saturday, July 14 governorship election, the more the Police seem to be indicting themselves, and increasing the suspicion that they constitute part of the federal might working for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Operations, assigned to coordinate security activities during the Saturday governorship election in the state,  Habila Joshua, why stating that he never ordered his men to attack PDP members, declared that the Police would not allow any unauthorized rally that would cause violence to hold. The wide fear is that such security action was not comprehensive on all political parties or candidates in the contest, except the PDP.

National Daily gathered that DIG Habila Joshua, in a media interaction in Ado-Ekiti, said he was not aware of any attack on Governor Fayose; maintaining that all that his men were doing was to keep the peace as well as maintain law and order, ahead of Saturday’s governorship poll.

DIG Joshua was cited to have declared: “We are not here to usurp the authority of the Governor but we are not going to allow any unauthorized rally that can trigger violence in the state. You can see that the state is tensed up.

“As law enforcement agents, we must be proactive and take actions that can prevent crisis rather than trying to quell it after it might have broken out.”

He refuted that the Government House, Ado-Ekiti, was not blocked security operatives contrary to the claims by Fayose.

The DIG admitted that the Police only blocked the road from Fajuyi area of the State Secretariat, on the Ado-Ekiti-Ilesa Road, to stop miscreants.

He promised to investigate the alleged attack on Fayose and brief the media afterwards.

National Daily, however, gathered that armed policemen on Wednesday obstructed a rally scheduled to hold at the New Pavilion at Fajuyi, within Government House vicinity.

Report on the incidence alleged that “the policemen shot into the air as they dispersed the PDP members who were called by Fayose for a rally in support of Prof Kolapo Olusola-Eleka.

“Fayose, who got wind of the development, came out of Government House to find out the cause of the pandemonium.

“The Policemen rebuffed the governor for challenging their mode of operations, leading to verbal altercations.

“When the ambience became rowdy, the police used the teargas, with the governor claiming later that he lost consciousness; that his neck was sprained and was rushed to hospital.”