Society Gists

Hundreds of Ekiti State Indigenes rallied on Monday in support of the Federal Government’s anti-corruption war, insisting that governor Ayodele Fayose must be made to face the law, if found guilty of fraud.

Shortly after the governor’s case against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti on Monday, a group of placard-carrying youths staged a protest few meters to the court declaring their support for the anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari and the EFCC crackdown on Fayose and his associates.

The protesters carried various placards, some of which read: Some of their placards read”No Immunity for Impunity”, “Let Us Kill Corruption Before It Kills Us”, “No Absolute Immunity for Corrupt Governors”, “Fayose Can’t Be Above The Law”, “Fayose Must Be Investigated”.

Led by an activist, Sunday Asefon, the group said they came to demonstrate in support of the EFCC efforts to prosecute Fayose for alleged money laundering insisting that the governor must face the law for the alleged diversion of arms cash to fund his campaign.

They sang solidarity songs in Yoruba: “Ko si idariji fe ni to ba jale, ayafi ko lo sewon” which means “there is no forgiveness for anybody that steals, such an individual must go to jail.”

Addressing reporters during the protest, Asefon said the action was to show solidarity with the EFCC in getting to the root of the alleged stealing of the arms cash saying whoever that is indicted must face the law.

Said Asefon: “We are here today to show solidarity with the EFCC to support the anti-corruption crusade of President Buhari whoever that is indicted must be tried in the law court no if found guilty must be punished according to the law of the land.

“We are in full support of the freezing of Fayose’s account which we believe was timely at a time government workers are owed five months salaries and this man is saying there is no money.

“Last Monday, the governor instigated some students to protest against President Buhari and the EFCC which we have dissociated ourselves from. Every reasonable Ekiti person must support the move to recover the stolen funds.

“There is no immunity for impunity, imagine the governor richer than the whole state and we want the EFCC to continue with its war on graft and anybody found guilty must face the music,” he added.

Fayose, who is claiming immunity, is under investigation by the EFCC for his part in the infamous N4.7 billion slush funds from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) under Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.)

His personal accounts have been frozen by the anti-graft agency while his associates have also been arrested.