Tension mounts as S-Court rules on Oni’s petition today

Tension mounts in Ado
Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, as the
people of the state await today’s
judgment of the Supreme Court over the
suit instituted by former governor of
the state, Mr. Segun Oni, urging the
apex court to set aside the Court of
Appeal’s judgement of October 15, 2010,
that removed him from office.

The Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division,
had in its decision on the matter set
aside the judgement of the lower
tribunal which upheld Oni’s election as
the validly elected governor of the
state in 2007.
The court in its decision ordered a re-
run election which was held in 2009
However, after living office, Oni, not
satisfied with the decision of the
court, approached the Ado Ekiti division
of the court, alleging bias and
favoritism on the part of the suspended
president of the court, Justice Ayo
Salami and the members of the tribunal.
Specifically, Oni is seeking an order
setting aside the decision of the Court
of Appeal, Ado Ekiti division delivered
on Monday, February 27, 2012.
He,is equally seeking an order
directing a fresh Panel of the Court of
Appeal to hear and determine the
aforesaid appeal in (ii) above de novo.
An order directing the Speaker of the
Ekiti State House of Assembly to take
over the governance of Ekiti State,
pending the hearing and determination of
the appeal in (ii) above by the Court of
Appeal.
Ekiti CP speaks
On his preparation for the judgement,
Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Mr.
Sotonye Wakama, said he had a meeting
with the leaders of the two parties
where they promised to caution their
supporters against fomenting trouble
before, during and after the judgement.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer,
Mr. Victor Babayemi, said: “We are
monitoring the situation very closely.
“We invited all the leaders of the
political parties on Tuesday, and it was
agreed that they will talk to their
supporters and party members in view of
today’s judgement to ensure that there
is peace in the state.
“Our intelligence unit had been sent out
to gather information from the public.
We have also deployed our men to all
strategic positions across the state to
forestall breakdown of law and order
that may arise as a result of the
judgement. So, we don’t foresee crisis
before, during and after the judgement.”
Ekiti ACN chair hopeful
In his response to the pending court
verdict, the Chairman of Action Congress
of Nigeria, ACN, Ekiti chapter, Chief
Jide Awe, who assured that his party
members would not forment trouble, said
his members were not in the habit of
formenting trouble, even at a time when
situations were more grievous than this.
He, however, expressed confidence in the
judiciary, saying his members would not
involved in any action that would
desecrate the temple of justice, just as
he enthused that the party would be
victorious in today’s judgement.
Oni and other PDP leaders had at various
times clarified that the suit was not
intended to ridicule the judiciary but
to expose alleged bias in the judgement
that ousted him from office.
Oni believed that he would be vindicated
in the end.