The House of Representatives has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to mandate the Nigeria Police and other security agencies to apologize to Nigerians over the alleged attack on Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State.

Sequel to the unanimous adoption of a motion under matters of urgent public importance by Yussuf Tajudeen (PDP, Kogi) at the plenary on Thursday, the House said the unwarranted attack and assault on the governor and people of Ekiti by the police was uncivil and unconstitutional.

The representatives argued that no candidate for any election needed the permit of the police or any other agency to campaign within his constituency during the period allowed by relevant laws.

They therefore called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that  Saturday’s election in the state was free and fair.

Moving the motion, Tajudeen said heavily-armed policemen had barricaded and taken over the Ekiti Government House, thus preventing the free movement of people in and out of the complex.

The legislator maintained that the police was only mandated under the law to prevent and detect crime, apprehend offenders, preserve and implement laws and protect lives and property.

He said that Nigeria was a democratic state and that the take-over of the Government House was an assault on armless civilians, stressing that the assault on citizens did not fall under the duties of the police, neither did it comply with the tenets of the rule of law.

Tajudeen described  the actions of the police as illegal and a breach of the constitution which should not be condoned in a democracy as it was capable of putting a clog in the wheels of progress already made by INEC.

The Police on Wednesday interrupted a rally organized by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in the state, shooting sporadically and using teargas on the crowd in a bid to disperse them. Governor Fayose said he was assaulted and injured in the process and this led to his being hospitalised.