Olajide Omolola, an unmarried female police corporal attached to Iye-Ekiti station, was sacked for getting pregnant.

Babatunde Mobayo, the state commissioner of police, had justified Olajide’s sack, saying the policewoman contravened section 127 of the police regulation which recommends punitive measures.

Section 127 of the police act and regulations provides that “an unmarried woman police officer who becomes pregnant shall be discharged from the force and shall not be re-enlisted except with the approval of the Inspector-General”.

Fapohunda, in the suit filed at the federal high court, Ado Ekiti, is seeking “an order of court declaring Section 127 of the Police Act and Regulations which provides for the discharge from the Police Force, women police officers who become pregnant while unmarried unconstitutional”.

The Ekiti state commissioner of police and the police service commission are joined as co-defendants in the suit, according to a statement by Olalekan Suleman, special assistant to the state AG on media.

“The suit is asking the court to determine among others: whether the provisions of Section 127 of Police Act and Regulations are not in violation of the combined provisions of Sections 37 and 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), and Articles 2,3, 5 18(3) and 19 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and therefore unconstitutional, null and void,” the statement read.

“An order nullifying Section 127 of Police Act and Regulations as well as an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Inspector General of Police, the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police and the Police Service Commission from implementing the said provisions.”

It added that the attorney-general has also written to the IGP, offering the support of the state ministry of justice in conducting a gender audit of the police act and regulations.

“The AG reiterated Ekiti State Government’s commitment to the eradication of all forms of discrimination against women in public and private life and as such had enacted several laws including the Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) Law, 2020 (as amended) and enabled policies aimed at protecting the rights of women in Ekiti State,” it added.

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Fayose, who spoke through the Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Owoweni Ajayi, on Wednesday, said the verdict of the Supreme Court on the governorship election was superior to that of any tribunal.

Fayose said that the report could not be used to prosecute the members of the Ekiti Peoples Democratic Party alleged to have been culpable in the rigging of the election.

In an open letter written by the commissioner to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, Fayose said that plans were afoot by the Federal Government to prosecute Ekiti PDP members over the alleged rigging.

The state government said that the Supreme Court had put the contentious issues arising from the petition by the All Progressives Congress over the election to rest by delivering a judgment in favour of the governor and the PDP.

The letter said, “Although the AGF is vested with prosecutorial powers under Section 174 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the powers are neither absolute nor unlimited and they must be exercised with due caution and regard for the rule of law.”

It said the propriety or otherwise of the election had been decided from the tribunal level up to the Supreme Court and that any other panel, whether military or otherwise, could not sit over judgment on any matter already decided by the apex court.

According to the governor, the sanctity of the judicial process and respect for the principles of federalism must be adhered to always.

“Unless an alleged criminal act constitutes an offence under a federal enactment, the Attorney General of the Federation will definitely be acting ultra vires by any purported move to prosecute an alleged offender before any state or federal court in Nigeria without a fiat by the Attorney General of the respective state, vested with constitutional jurisdiction to prosecute criminal matters under the state law.

“Although the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) is a federal enactment, which creates several offences triable only in the magistrate or high court of a state in which the offence is committed, prosecution of such offences can only be undertaken by the Independent National Electoral Commission, upon a recommendation made to it by an Election Petition Tribunal for the prosecution of any person or individual disclosed in an election petition or upon findings, after a thorough investigation by the police.”

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The meeting which was held at Sunview Hotel, Alagbaka, had five of the APC lawmakers in attendance and lasted for over five hours.

At the meeting were the embattled Speaker, Dr. Adewale Omirin, his deputy, Tunji Orisalade, Bunmi Orilowo, Churchill Adedipe and Gbenga Odebunmi.

Also at the meeting were the Chief of staff to the Governor, Dipo Anisulowo; the Ekiti State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Owoseni Ajayi; a lawmaker-elect, Kola Oluwawole, and the State Commissioner of Police, John James.

Both parties, however, kept sealed lips on the outcome of the meeting when journalists approached them after the meeting.

Fayose said, “I don’t want to answer any question, but we are only going to make one statement and the statement is: today we have met, in the overall interest of our state believing that we will be able to find solution to the problem.”

When also asked to comment, Omirin too declined saying, “What the governor said was actually what we have done.”

Shortly after the meeting, the governor left while the five lawmakers continued with the meeting.

The lawmakers had, on April 30, shunned a peace meeting convened by Afe Babalola (SAN) to reconcile them with the governor in Ado Ekiti citing insecurity.

However, in a statement later issued by Omirin’s Special Adviser on Media, Wole Olujobi, the APC lawmakers, who said they acceded to the governor’s request for a fence-mending meeting following his phone calls to the Speaker, the lawmakers insisted on a return to the status quo as of November 11, 2014, before any peace deal could be struck.

The statement said that “While the governor emphasised before the lawmakers the offer of their salaries and other entitlements, the lawmakers insisted on t‎he return to the status quo as of November 11, 2014.

“That means restoring all the principal officers to their positions and all aides of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, including those of other principal officers should be restored to their positions,” the statement explained.

“The lawmakers made it clear they were ready to return to their jobs and the governor should provide atmosphere for that possibility. They asked the governor to clear the House of Assembly of thugs and create conditions that would make them do their jobs without any security threats.

“T‎hey insisted that restoring the security aides of the principal officers and opening the Assembly for resumption of their legal duties should be the starting point for the restoration of peace.”

Olujobi said while the lawmakers made their position clear, the governor was more on payment of the lawmakers’ entitlements while promising to look at what he could do on return to the status quo.

According to the statement, Fayose revealed he might have difficulty in resolving the return to the status quo because the matter was already in court.

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