Justice R. M Aikawa of the Federal High Court, Sokoto had in a judgment delivered on January 29, 2015 barred the use of the military in the conduct of elections.
The Court of Appeal, which heard the appeal arising from the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress against Fayose’s victory in the June 21, 2014 governorship election, in its judgment on Monday, also barred the use of soldiers in the conduct of future elections in the country.
It said such constituted a violation of both the constitution and the Electoral Act.
But Fayose on Wednesday insisted that the President would continue to deploy soldiers for elections in the country.
He accused the APC of planning to unleash terror on Nigerians after losing the March 28 presidential election.
The governor, who advised the APC to take the audio clip purporting the use of the military to rig the Ekiti State election to court, said, “Nigeria cannot be governed by blackmail and propaganda, but rule of law.”
Fayose, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said the APC did not want the military to be involved in the elections in order to have the opportunity to perpetrate violence during the elections.
“It is the constitutional right of President Goodluck Jonathan to deploy soldiers to provide security anywhere in Nigeria and not even the APC allies in the judiciary can take away this right,” the statement by Olayinka noted.
It added, “When APC people begin to blackmail an institution, it simply means that such institution has refused to be corrupted by the party.
“All the noise being made by the APC and its lousy leaders on their purported audio/video clip is aimed at blackmailing the military into abandoning its responsibility of providing security during the elections so that they can carry out their evil plot of unleashing violence on Nigerians unhindered.
“They invaded Ekiti with thugs during the June 21, 2014 governorship election but the presence of soldiers prevented the thugs from operating in the state.
“When soldiers were deployed in Edo State and the election was won by the party, Governor Adams Oshiomhole led APC leaders on a thank-you visit to President Jonathan in Abuja.
“The same soldiers that provided security in Edo provided security in Ondo and Ekiti states. APC lost in the two states and Nigerians have not been allowed to rest. Should election be seen as free and fair only when APC wins? Should the military be hailed for providing adequate security during elections only when APC wins?”
Source: Punch
