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Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said he is ready to face the probe of the National Human Rights Commission over the petition written against him by the All Progressives Congress.
In a February 16 petition by the state Secretary of the APC in the state, Omotosho Ayodele, the party had urged the commission to investigate the governor over alleged state sponsored pre-election violence in Ekiti State.
It called on the commission to declare Fayose “as a person of interest” in its investigation of election violence in Nigeria.
But Fayose said the move was a welcome development, saying it would be an opportunity to also investigate numerous murder cases committed during the reign of former Governor Kayode Fayemi.
The governor, who spoke with our correspondent through his Special Assistant on Information, Lanre Ogunsuyi, on Wednesday in Ado Ekiti said, “It is a welcome development. It would afford the commission and any relevant body to know who the culprits are.
“We are a non-violent government and we encourage our members to be peaceful. The APC is just crying wolf.
“Governor Fayose’s campaign office was attacked before the June 21, 2014 governorship election.The invitation would afford the commission to investigate all the killings carried out in the state under the watch of former Governor Kayode Fayemi.”
In the petition, the opposition party, specifically, urged the NHRC to “investigate the conduct of security agencies in Ekiti State with a view to determining their professionalism, high-handedness and non- partisanship.
The petition read, “More worrisome is our finding that police officers are actively involved in committing these acts of violence.
“It is a matter of concern to us that despite reporting these incidents to the police, few arrests and virtually no prosecution have been undertaken.”
The petitioner listed numerous attacks on opposition members in the state allegedly linked to the governor and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.
“We want to emphasise that these interim measures are necessary to prevent loss of lives and further destruction of property in Ekiti State,” the APC said.
The petitioner urged the NHRC to intervene to avoid political violence with attendant loss of lives and destruction of properties in the state.
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