Daily Independent (Lagos)
Yaqop Popoola
13 July 2009
SALIU ABAYOMI ADEOTI, Deputy Speaker of Ekiti State House Assembly, recently had a brush with the state command of the Nigerian Police. He was arrested over the burning of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC's) office during the recent controversial governorship re-run election in the state. In this interview with Correspondent, YAQOP POPOOLA, he not only recounts his experience, but situates the politics of the state, in which he vows to continue to play a prominent role.
Excerpts:
Recently men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) arrested you in your hometown-Otun-Ekiti over an alleged complicity in arson in Ido-Ekiti during the re-run governorship election. Could let us into how it happened?
Well, I will not call that an arrest per-se. But, let me say that before I was accosted that day by the men of SARS there had been a lot of lies been spread in the state about my person. And that has to do with the burning down of the Independent National Electoral Commission Office (INEC) in Ido-Osi during the April 26, 2009 re-run election.
Since the outbreak of the wicked rumour, I had always maintained my innocence on the matter. But when I discovered that the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the state would not let it go and I ran to court to seek for some relief and that is the enforcement of my fundamental human rights. Thank God, the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti granted me the relief that I should not be arrested unlawfully. If all I would be arrested, it must be lawful. But the way and manner I was picked up by SARS was so embarrassing and unlawful and I must say that it was a disgrace to the Nigerian police authorities.
If you see the way they dragged me out of my vehicle, the number four citizen in the state for that matter. A particular SARS guy was even bold enough to call me a 'yeye boy' meaning: Useless boy. His name is Aloma. I can still recognise him anytime I come across him, solely, because he was paid to act a certain script. But I leave him to God. I must say the arrest was a shocking and embarrassing thing to me.
The most annoying part of the whole scenario was that there was no time I was invited by the police for interrogation over the matter. But the police went ahead to declare me wanted without even sending any invitation or hear from me.
It would interest you to note that when the noise of my alleged being wanted by police was much, I had to put a call across to the State Commissioner of Police, Chris Ola and the worst in the history of the state. He deliberately refused to pick my calls. I called him more than 20 times that I wanted to confirm from him whether all what I was reading on the pages of newspapers or on radio were actually true or not. I later learnt that I was not the only person that would receive such treatment from the CP. When the attempt to call the CP failed, I devised another means of getting at him and that is by sending him text message and the message was delivered. In the message I said "My Commissioner I learnt you are looking for me, please confirm."
You may want to ask why I needed the confirmation from the CP. As you are aware that the spate of kidnapping was on the increase in the state then. I didn't want to fall innocently in the hands of this people. So I had no doubt in my mind that some people could use police vehicle to kidnap an innocent citizen .In a nutshell, I was arrested unlawfully, even when there is subsisting court injunction against the police.
How were you arrested on that day?
Yes, I had wanted to travel to Lagos on that fateful day for an official assignment. I left my private residence around 12.50pm.I drove the vehicle myself and I told my boy that please we need to go and get fuel. About three minutes after these people just appeared from nowhere. I didn't know where they were coming from. All I saw was that they swooped on my vehicle and started shooting sporadically. They came in four pickup vans with more than 20 policemen, fully-armed. I now asked them, have you come to arrest or kidnap me? But none of them responded. It was as if I was watching this commando film. I was then bundled into one of the vans. Somebody among them even attempted handcuffing me but I told him straight to his face that if you try that, that would be last thing you do on the earth. For what? Handcuffing me for mere allegation that you had not even conducted your investigation? I know surely that they would fail. They had failed before they will fail this time again.
Was there any conversation between you and the police on your way to the state command in Ado-Ekiti?
Yes. I could remember. One of them told me that I paid Okada riders to be causing problem in the town. And as at that time I did know what was happening in the town. I now asked the police that how many of those people have you arrested? Or has anyone of them told you that I pay them money to cause problem in the town? It is all lies upon lies. And I want to say that all those who participated in the act would regret their actions one after the other. I believe in the power of Almighty Allah.
What happened at the state command?
When I got there, I was asked about what I knew about the burning of INEC office in Idi-Osi. I told them point blank that it is not possible for one person to be in two places at same time. I was actually at the Christ School Ado-Ekiti as at the time the office was reportedly burnt. I was there to witness the collation of the results of the election. I was there until midnight. Because the collation was inconclusive, I had to leave the venue with other party leaders. I was there between the hours of six and 12 midnight. I was never seen by the police. How then could I be responsible for the arson?
One interesting thing but which is pathetic to the PDP's allegation is that as at the time the INEC was reportedly burnt my party (AC), was leading in the results counted. So could it have been wise for me to go and burn down the place at that time? The results of the three wards declared by the INEC were won by AC .The question we should all ask the PDP is that would it be wise for any AC man to attempt disrupting the process, let alone burn the place. I told the police that the PDP was supposed to be investigated. But because the police in Ekiti were partial, they could not do that. We have record and information of their various underhand dealings between them and the PDP.
So that is why the Police were acting the script prepared by the PDP. After writing my statement I was granted bail and asked to report back the next day. I honoured that invitation only to be told that I would be moved to Abuja. And I said Abuja would settle this matter because Ekiti police have already compromised. I was taken to Abuja in my own vehicle. So those who came to arrest me started seeing things differently. At Abuja, I was again interrogated .I could remember a particular police officer was surprised that the court injunction restraining the police from arresting me was not in my case file. You can imagine that. Is that not an attempt to mislead the police in Abuja? An order was given immediately that the court injunction should be brought to Abuja. I was later granted an unconditional bail by the police authorities in Abuja.
They promised to look into the matter since only one party made the allegation. Even the owner of the building, INEC did not make any statement. Only Bunmi Ojo, who happened to be the personal assistant to Engineer Segun Oni. This was not the first time they tried to malign my character.
Is it true that you were trying to secure the bail of some thugs arrested in Ido-Osi during the election?
No, there was nothing of such. I was not aware that some people were arrested. All I know is that some Youths Corps members were trapped in the INEC office on that same day but I was in Ido-Osi but that was before 5pm. Some of the corps members were taken away in my black Hilux van. What is more worrisome is that when the PDP were describing my vehicle they said I brought a white Hilux van, a jeep, and a bus. Whereas the Hilux I was using then belong to Mr. Speaker and they were black. Some of them said I wore red T-Shirt while others said I wore blue. These were PDP people.
Why didn't you make an appearance to the police in the first place before you were declared wanted and your subsequent arrest?
No! I can't make an appearance to an irresponsible police, because, ordinarily before you declare somebody wanted, you must have invited that person or perhaps you write him. The CP Ola was reckless. But he had concluded his investigation that the alleged suspect was a criminal even before the interrogation. If you give somebody bail and he jumped it then, you can declare him or her wanted. If they respect my status as the number four man in the state, they wouldn't have done that. What the police have demonstrated with that act is that they have compromised their responsibility. I was told that they went to the magistrate court to collect a warrant of arrest. This warrant of arrest was not brought to me. It was only shown to me after my kidnapping. Like I said, this we are aware of all the underhand dealings. Sooner or later the public would be awash with all these. Some of them even confessed to me. But I leave that for now.
So, in Abuja I was treated like a VIP. I wouldn't want to know whether VIP means a very important person or prison. But I know for sure that am not a prisoner. Let me say this; that the way I saw the police in Abuja, honestly speaking I was impressed. Their conduct gives hope for an average Nigerian seeking justice. It shows that we can still have a better policing in Nigeria. I came to the conclusion that we still have the few who could make the difference in the system. I want to appeal to police in Ekiti to emulate the good virtues of their colleagues in Abuja.
What do you think had been responsible for these allegations about your person?
It is obvious. Without being told, I am not against Segun Oni, but, I am against injustice. I am in a serious battle with injustice. You remember that immediately that when he was inaugurated in 2007 he rushed to the old assembly who screened his commissioners. And that was the genesis of the crisis. There is no way I can support illegality and this is what Oni and his cohorts are doing. They are not comfortable with me in this regard. Whenever anything happens, they try to induce me with money and I used to tell them am not interested. If you have N20 billion if God says you will go begging, nothing can change it. The issue of money is out of it. As a Muslim I always think of what will happen to me in hereafter. I know that I will one day account for whatever I have done on this earth. So I cannot allow anybody's inordinate ambitions to rubbish my principles. And that is what the PDP represents in this state. They thought they could unsettle me, forgetting that I am one of the 13 members of AC in the Assembly and the weakest among the 13 members.
As long as we are still living, we shall continue with the struggle until sanity is restored into Ekiti polity. We shall struggle for the emancipation of Ekiti people. In fact when I write my memo, it will be very interesting. I must reemphasise that I have nothing against Oni as a person, but about the way he does his things. We are Ekiti and we call ourselves Fountain of Knowledge and Land of Honour. I doubt now if we still have that honour, because of the way things are being done in the state in recent times. Other Nigerians are looking at us. If he had got it right from the onset may be there would not be all these crises we are talking about today. I will not shut up until corrections are made. It is 'no retreat no surrender.'
There is a kind of apprehension in town that the present Assembly may not accept the list of commissioners from the governor. How true is this?
Let me say that the screening and confirmation of commissioners are purely our responsibility and I don't think we will shy away from that. It is contained in the Constitution. I don't see that bringing uneasy calm to the state. All I know is that the assembly will not surrender its integrity and honour to anybody. If credible people are presented we shall do our work. But if people of questionable character are nominated, definitely there would be problem. We have a governor in Ondo State who is from the Labour Party and highly dominated PDP Assembly and they still went ahead to ratify the list of the commissioners.
Is it true that the Assembly has an already prepared impeachment notice for Governor Segun Oni?
No. No! Nobody is interested in impeachment anybody. If people are saying that I think those who are nursing the fear are only being disturbed by their past. As far as I know in this Assembly there is no such move. Those who are contemplating causing crisis in the Assembly should check themselves.
People out there see you as a mean person. Who is Saliu Adeoti?
Saliu Abayomi Adeoti is Muslim from Otun -Ekiti. I have a very strong Islamic background. And I so much believe in the teachings of the glorious Koran and the tradition of the prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) that you are not a believer until you wish for others what you wish for yourself. You can say you are rich when others are hungry. Show goodness to your neighbour and so on. One thing with every believer is that we are always blunt. I don't want to suffer on earth and go and suffer in the hereafter. I am not tough, but principled. I will not compromise truth and justice. I hate injustice. Let me tell you something, I was with Mr. Governor before he was sacked by the Appeal Court ruling in Ilorin and he said something and I was laughing. He then said to me "Adeoti are you laughing, so you do smile?" I was also with Chief Afe Babalola sometimes ago in his office in Ibadan and he said to me that some people had told me that you will not come when I sent for you. In fact he was surprise to see me. So it is not good to judge people from a far.
What is your own comment about the recent Appeal Court judgment which nullified the PDP Senatorial election in Ekiti Central?
It is big relief to all justice seekers. Not only in AC but it cut across all parties. I want particularly say that it is a big relief to all members of AC. The judgment is a beckon hope for the party. It has shown that the truth is always constant. What Almighty Allah enjoins in all human beings are truth and justice. So the judiciary had assisted the Allah's cause with the judgement.
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