A group, Democracy Action Vanguard, yesterday, called for the arrest and prosecution of a former chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Isaac Kekemeke, for threatening that the ruling party will deploy armed thugs and federal might to crush the opposition in the forthcoming governorship election.
Kekemeke, one of the APC governorship aspirants, who recently reconciled with the candidate of the party in the October governorship election and incumbent governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, had, in a viral video, allegedly threatened that APC would deal with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Eyitayo Jegede.
Reacting to the video, Democracy Action Vanguard, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Mohammed Alhassan, and made available to newsmen in Abuja, called on the Inspector General of Police, the Department of State Services and the National Intelligence Agencyto arrest, investigate and initiate prosecution proceedings against the APC chieftain and his collaborators.
According to the group, it is brazenly illegal and provocative for a ruling party to threaten violence and the use of federal might to win elections in the country.
“It is, indeed, unfortunate that 21 years into the restoration of civil rule, a high-ranking member of APC, a party which got into power through the electoral reforms initiated by the past PDP administration, would turn around to threaten fire and brimstone on the opposition in a desperate bid to win the October 10 poll in Ondo State at all costs.
“The threat is unfortunate given the fact that the mindless violence that characterised the 1983 governorship election in Ondo State was one of the major factors that led to military rule and the abolition of the Second Republic, a tragedy for which Nigerians paid dearly,” the group said.