Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, has suspended from office one of his appointees, Mr Dayo Ibijowo (well known as Ijaya), following his arrest on Thursday by men of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in connection with alleged armed thuggery.
Ibijowo is said to be one of the 11 suspected armed thugs arrested in Ikun-Ekiti and paraded by the police on Friday. Police authorities said they were hired by a serving member of the House of Representatives to disrupt the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election slated for Saturday.
According to a statement by the Governor’s Special Adviser on Media, Mr Yinka Oyebode, Ibijowo would remain suspended pending the completion of the investigation into the thuggery case.
Oyebode explained that Ibijowo’s suspension underscores the Oyebanji dministration’s zero tolerance for any act of lawlessness and criminality.
On Wednesday, the governor concluded a violence-free campaign tour of the state’s 16 Local Government Areas, where he repeatedly emphasised the need for peaceful conduct among politicians and supporters of political parties during and after the electioneering season.
Reiterating his earlier appeal to residents and other contestants to maintain the peace, Oyebanji said that no act of criminality would be tolerated.
At a news conference on Friday, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Michael Falade, said that the command received credible intelligence at about 9 pm on Thursday that some suspected hoodlums, armed with dangerous weapons, were sighted at Onikoyi Hotel in Ikun-Ekiti.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the police chief said the operatives of the RRS were immediately mobilised to the hotel, leading to the arrest of seven suspects, while others escaped in about three vehicles.
Falade named the suspects arrested at the hotel as Stephen Adekunle, Adebayo Adepoju, Ishola Boluwaji, Adeoluwa Oluwatobi, Emmanuel Akintunde, Adewale Makanjuola and Ibitola Babatope.
He added that further police operations led to the interception of an unregistered Toyota Sienna bus carrying four additional suspects who had initially escaped from the hotel.
The additional suspects were identified as Sikiru Abanikanda, Dayo Ibijowo, Dele Ajayi and Damola Adegbite.
The Police commissioner disclosed that one pump-action gun was also recovered from the vehicle.
Falade alleged that the suspects confessed during interrogation that they were political thugs hired by a serving member of the House of Representatives to destabilise the APC primary.
He said the suspects would be charged in court upon completion of the investigation, adding that efforts were ongoing to arrest other fleeing suspects and their alleged sponsor.
