A Salute to Courage and a Condemnation of Injustice: His Excellency Alhaji Murtala Yakubu Ajaka and the Struggle for True Democracy
The Kogi East Patriotic Forum extends its deepest commendations to our leader and champion of democracy, His Excellency, Alhaji Murtala Yakubu Ajaka for his indomitable spirit and unwavering dedication to the people of Kogi State.
The journey which began with the gross injustice of his exclusion from the APC primary elections, is a testament to the courage, resilience, and determination of a man committed to serving his people and not expected to be served despite the most daunting challenges occasioned by the tyranny of the past dictator Alh. Yahaya Adoza Bello who is now at large for criminal offences.
From the moment the ruling APC unjustly barred him from the primaries, to the unrelenting intimidation he faced, he remained defiant and sustained his political ideology to the end. You have by your conduct exemplified leadership anchored on integrity and value the type envisaged by our heroes past. He has faced threats to his life, endured brazen rigging of the election, and witnessed the blatant miscarriage of justice by the electoral tribunal, the appeal court, and finally, the Supreme Court.
Despite these insurmountable odds, he stood firm in his conviction, never wavering in his commitment to truth and justice that has today become forlon.
We stand in awe of Alhaji Ajaka’s courage. The open rigging of the election, which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) itself admitted and promised to investigate, was a shocking display of electoral fraud. The evidence of the systematic bypassing and non-use of the BVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System) was incontrovertible, yet it was dismissed based on technicalities without due consideration to moral justice by our courts. This dismissal is not just a setback for Alhaji Ajaka, but a direct assault on the very solid foundations of free and fair elections in Nigeria. It is a blight on the gains of democracy, a stain on the conscience of our nation and the value cherished by our heroes past.
The journey through the courts has revealed the depth of the rot within our electoral and judicial systems. It is a profound disappointment that the tribunal, the appeal court, and finally, the Supreme Court, chose to ignore the overwhelming evidence of electoral malpractice. The Nigerian people deserve better than a judiciary that turns a blind eye to the truth.
Furthermore, we must express our utter condemnation of the recent attempt on Alhaji Ajaka’s life by thugs associated with the ruling APC, right within the premises of the Supreme Court. That such an incident could occur in broad daylight, in the very seat of our Nation’s justice system, and yet go unaddressed by the Supreme Court, the National Judicial Council (NJC), or the Nigerian Police Force for more than 48 hours, is a damning indictment of the current state of our nation. It speaks to a lawless environment where might is right and where the voices of justice are drowned out by the cacophony of political thuggery.
We, the Kogi East Patriotic Forum, will not remain silent in the face of such blatant injustice. We condemn in the strongest terms all those who, from the Federal level to the community level, participated in, supported, engineered, or facilitated these travesties at every stage. We also hold in contempt those who chose to remain silent in the face of these obvious threats to a sane world.
Your silence is a betrayal of the principles of democracy, justice, and humanity.
To Alhaji Murtala Yakubu Ajaka, we say this: Your struggle has not been in vain. You have given a voice to the voiceless, courage to the timid, and hope to the disillusioned.
The people of Kogi State and all well-meaning Nigerians stand with you. The history books will remember your courage, your dedication, and your unyielding fight for justice. Though the battle may seem lost, the war for the soul of Nigeria’s democracy continues, and we are confident that truth and justice will ultimately prevail.
In the face of adversity, we must remain steadfast. We call on all Kogi citizens, especially those from Kogi East, to continue to support one another, to stand firm in the pursuit of justice, and to never give up on the dream of a fair, just, and democratic Nigeria. Let us continue to work for the peace, unity, and prosperity of our region and our nation as a whole.
