Ekiti State Governor, Chief Ayodele Fayose, has decried the attack by military men on the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr Nnamdi Kanu, and his supporters in Umuahia, Abia State on Sunday, saying the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government is becoming authoritarian and intolerable of dissenting voices.
He stated this in Ado-Ekiti on Monday while fielding questions from newsmen.
A statement from the office of the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, quoted the governor as saying the FG ought to wait until it demand in court that Kanu's bail be revoked is determined by the court before taken any action.
"The invasion is condemnable and the present government is becoming authoritarian. It is proving not to be a peaceful one. The government is also operating double standards. They went to court to revoke his ball and they can't be patient enough for the court to decide on the matter.
"We need dialogue. People have to ask the FG what the Igbo people have done to deserve all this. Even if they have done anything wrong, they should be forgiven. The matter we have on hand is beyond Kanu," he stated.
On the defence by the military that IPOB members blocked their right of way and were the first to attack them, the governor noted that that was the same excuse they gave when they attacked Ibrahim el-Zakyzaky in Zaria, Kaduna State during which hundreds of people were killed.
"Up until now, the man has been in detention and the defence by the military in Kanu's case is similar and we can not allow been fooled again. They are also flying a kite that they are clamping down on hate speech, the question is what constitutes hate speech?
" This is nothing but another plot to descend on whoever they perceive as the opposition. As for me, nobody can cage me. The threat of imprisonment or death can not gag me. Their attempt at muzzling the opposition will fail. For me, I will continue to be the voice of the opposition," he said.
The governor also urged Nigerians to rise up to the occasion of defending democracy and put the FG to the task of allowing democracy to thrive and be sustained in the country.
