 Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi on Friday in a state-wide broadcast announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the state from 7:00 p.m —-7:00 a.m till further notice.
Fayemi who regretted the death of Aderiye Omolafe and damaged of several property by protesters also announced that he had suspended the on-going “thank-you-tour” he embarked upon to Local Governments in the state to round-off his tenure, the News Agency of Nigeria,(NaN) reports.
The governor, who blamed various security agencies in the state for not acting fast to prevent the violence since Monday, said he had issued advisory to the State Attorney-General to see if pending cases in the state courts that are currently shut down could be heard in other venues.
This was coming just as the Ado-Ekiti Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association on Friday decried Thursday’s attack on a judge of the Ekiti High Court, Justice John Aderiye by some people at the court premises.
Also, the lawyers condemned the killing of Chief Omolafe Aderiye, the former Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) by suspected assassins on Thursday night in Ado-Ekiti.
Aderiye, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, was also a staunch loyalist of the Governor-Elect, Mr Ayo Fayose.
Briefing journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Friday, the Chairman, Mr Joseph Adewumi and the Secretary, Mr Gbemiga Adaramola, said the desecration of the temple of justice would not be condoned by the NBA and should also be decried by justice and peace-loving Nigerians.
Adewumi said while the association was still feeling bad about Monday’s incident during which the court room of a judge, Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi was invaded, it came as a shock that a repeat of the ugly incident took place.
On whether Justice Adeyeye was holding court session when the alleged attack took place, Adewumi said the NBA could not confirm that.
On the implications of the siege on the judiciary, Adewumi opined that it could lead to a state of anarchy.
“First, a serious constitutional crisis is coming in the state if by act of commission or omission an atmosphere of anarchy is encouraged on the temple of justice in the state.
“This is, because, that may have serious implication on the performance of the constitutional duty of the head of court in the state with respect to compliance with Section 185 (2) of the 1999 Constitution.
“If the current assault on the judges of the Ekiti State judiciary is allowed to continue, they would have lost the necessary independence that should be the bedrock of the performance of their constitutional duties,” he said.
The NBA therefore called for a thorough investigation of the incident and that anybody found culpable be brought to book.
Adewumi called on the Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, Mr Taiwo Lakanu, to ensure adequate security of lives and properties in the state.
He also called on the CP to extract letters of undertaking to be of good behaviour from political gladiators in the state.
On Aderiye’s killing, the NBA boss said politicians should find peaceful means of settling their differences.
“God is there to judge every perpetrator of evil whether now or in the near future irrespective of status, the killing is not only ungodly, the destruction of human lives is condemnable,” he added.
