A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Public Communications and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, said some top government officials would be arrested along with the lawmakers.

The statement alleged that the detectives were led to Ado Ekiti by a Chief Superintendent of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, attached to the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja.

The statement said that the fresh deployment of the detectives in Ekiti State came on the heels of a failed attempt by the officials of the Department of State Services to nail lawmakers from the state.

According to the statement, the alleged clampdown on the state’s legislators would begin on Tuesday night, adding that the recent arrest of some lawmakers by the DSS was to coerce them to impeach Fayose.

It said, “The government said the indiscriminate arrest is to begin this night and that the policemen arrived Ado Ekiti, the state capital, today.

“We are aware of the arrival of policemen from Abuja to Ekiti State with the intention of arresting 11 members of the House of Assembly, two Peoples Democratic Party leaders per local government council and some other top officials of the government.

“The offence for which the policemen are to embark on this indiscriminate arrest is owing to TKO Aluko’s malicious outburst that those listed for arrest stockpiled arms during the governorship election conducted in Ekiti close to two years ago.

“This plot is in furtherance of the APC’s plot to destabilise the government of Ekiti State just because of Governor Fayose’s hard stance on President Muhammadu Buhari’s policies.

“The question is, what were the arms they claimed were stockpiled used for? Was anyone killed or attacked during the election?”

Fayose vowed to resist any attempt to use the police to harass lawmakers and government officials in the state, adding that he was entitled to hold views on any issue in Nigeria.

The statement said, “Why have the police not arrested the APC chairman, Jide Awe, who is wanted for alleged murder and TKO Aluko, who was declared wanted by the court for perjury. The police have, instead, provided security cover for Awe and Aluko?

“We, therefore, wish to alert Nigerians on this new plot and state that Ekiti people will resist any attempt to use the police to harass innocent citizens of the state.

“Democratically, we are entitled to our views on any issue in Nigeria and we won’t succumb to intimidation and harassment from any agency of the Federal government.”

Repeated calls placed to the lines of the state Publicity Secretary of the Ekiti APC, Taiwo Olatunbosun, were not answered. He also did not reply to a text message to his line.

Also, calls placed to the line of the Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti State Command, Alberto Adeyemi, proved abortive as his line was switched off.

Aluko denied being aware of the arrival of any contingent of policemen from Abuja.

He said, “I am not aware of any arrest and I don’t know the whereabouts of Chief Jide Awe.”

But a leader of the APC in Ekiti, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was no big deal in the police inviting any member of the society to clear the air on certain allegations.

The member said, “What’s the big deal in inviting public officials to come and explain certain actions and inactions? Nobody should be afraid of police invitation.

“Members of the executive such as ministers and directors have been invited by the National Assembly to clear the air on certain allegations. Nobody should fret over any invitation by the police.”

Source: PUNCH.