Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has hailed the Federal High
Court, Abuja judgement, ordering the release of the leader of the
Shi’ite Muslim sect, Ibrahim Zakzaky and his wife, as well as payment
of payment of N50 million damages awarded against the Department of
State Service (DSS).
The governor, who had called for the release of El-Zakzaky two weeks
ago, however said he won’t be surprised if the federal government does
not obey the judgment, adding that; “The judgement will be for
posterity even if in their usual style of impunity, those holding
power in Abuja ignore the judgment.”
He called on men of the judiciary to save democracy in Nigeria as well
as Nigerians from tyranny by being courageous and firm even in the
face of intimidation, harassment, blackmail and character
assassination by those whose desire is to muscle opposition and turn
Nigeria to as one party state.
In a statement issued on Friday, by his Special Assistant on Public
Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose
reiterated his earlier call on the International Criminal Court (ICC),
Amnesty International and other world bodies to investigate extra
judicial killings in the country in the last 15 months, especially the
murder of over 300 Shi’ite Muslims in Zaria and killing of over 150
Biafra activists.
He said under international human rights law governing the use of
firearms during policing operations, the intentional use of lethal
force is only permitted when strictly unavoidable, to protect life.
Governor Fayose noted that the detention since last year December, of
El-Sakzaky, after the murder of over 300 of his followers was inhuman
and wicked, saying; “the DSS claim that El-Sakzaky was being detained
to protect him is not only laughable but barbaric. How can you keep
someone in detention for 12 months and claim that you are protecting
him? Against what?”
The governor, who described the APC led federal government as law
breaker, noted that “the kind of impunity against the law of Nigeria
being witnessed now has never happened before. Even the military still
obeyed court judgements but here we are with a democratically elected
government that holds our constitution with contempt.”
“I congratulate Justice Gabriel Kolawole and the entire judiciary for
once against giving Nigerians hope that democracy can still survive
and rule of law can still be sustained.
“The judiciary must remain steadfast in its uphold of the rule of law,
so as to save Nigerians who are now being held by the jugular by those
who do not want anyone that is not in the same political camp with
them to exist,” he said.