- Safiu Kehinde
The Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) have traded accusation over the fire incident reported at Ilesa courtroom.
The incident which reportedly occurred on Sunday night was alleged to have been orchestrated by arsonist.
It gutted the courtroom and registry with several sensitive court documents destroyed in the process.
While the state government have condemned the incident, the PDP in a statement by its chairman, Sunday Bisi, claimed the incident was an attempt to frustrate justice from taking hold.
He alleged that the that the courtroom was burnt down by members of the opposition party over the local government case before the court.
Bisi stressed further that the timing of the arson on court is an attempt by some forces who are in lust for power to hinder justice.
“It is quite disturbing to note that the lust for power has descended into this dangerous level of targeting courts’ with violence.
“That Ilesa court was the choice of the arsonists says a lot, especially when there is a pending suit on the local government’s dispute before it.
“While politicians can tussle for power, it is totally unacceptable to target the judiciary, one of the pillars of democracy, for violence just to avoid justice.
“This is a dangerous signal for our democracy and every conscientious citizens must rise up against the reckless approach of a few politicians to reach for power.
“As a party that believes in the judiciary as a means of resolving disputes in a democracy, we reject this open attempt to frustrate the lawful approach to fighting illegality.
“If not for the Easter break embarked upon by the judiciary, the several cases launched against illegal occupiers of local government secretariats would have commenced, and we believe that was what those who burned down the courtroom in Ilesa are trying to stop as resumption is drawing closer.
Reacting in a statement issued by its Director of Media and Information, Mogaji Kola Olabisi, the APC condemned the burning of the court.
While describing the incident as a strange development in the history of the state, the APC sympathised with the state judiciary.
It charged security agents to intensify their professional dragnet into the incident.
“We sympathize with the state judiciary over the burning of the sectional part of the court building which should be a source of concern to all right-thinking members of the society.
“We are enjoining the statutory security services like the police, the Directorate of State Services(DSS), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence to intensify their professional dragnet into the incident by thoroughly investigating the cause of the inferno with a view to bringing the culprits to book.
“This report of fire incident in the court is a strange development in the history of the state and no stone should be left unturned to unveil the perpetrators of the crime.
“We shall always, as a party, avail the opportunity provided by the rule of law to solve any knotty issue(s) in the political terrain which is the hallmark of our party since its inception.
“All the lovers of democracy should condemn the burning down of a temple of justice which is an essential element in any democratic dispensation”. The statement read.