By Tope Temokun
DR. OLUKAYODE AJULO, SAN
HONOURABLE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND COMMISSIONER FOR JUSTICE,
ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S OFFICE,
ALAGBAKA, AKURE, ONDO STATE.
Dear Sir,
Ondo State today is sinking deeper into a state of serious insecurity. A matter of this nature, which some have called a family feud and others a fight between brothers, is not something we should be discussing at a state level. Personally, I have paid little attention to this issue since it hit the news, and I see this time as a moment for sober reflection for all of us in the state, given the numerous killings overrunning the state capital and the surrounding settlements. However, the latest developments have made this no longer an Akoko affair. Hence, this letter to you, sir.
It is debatable, though true, that since independence and under all republics of civil rule, the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act has been the most anti-democratic, most retrogressive, most oppressive, most anti-people, most cantankerously hated, and most satanic law designed to kill reason and rationality, silence people’s voices, and send innocent citizens to jail in some cases. This law has been criticised globally for its potential evils, which far exceed any benefits. Its invocation should not come from any decent public office holder with your kind of antecedents, to avoid any perception of impropriety. As the Chief Legal Officer of the state, it is essential that you exercise extreme caution in using this law, particularly in cases where it may be wielded based on personal disagreements. Your office demands more, sir.
The Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act is the power bank of the oppressor’s tool, deployed at the slightest annoyance to frighten and silence dissenting voices and poor critics. If that law were the only one left in the statute book, you, with your antecedents and pre-appointment dossier, weighed as recently as yesterday, should have nothing to do with that law in this personal case involving your Akoko brothers.
There is no amount of abuse your brothers from Akoko can hurl at you that should affect you to the extent that your immediate reaction is to consider the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act to do what? To send them to jail? In personal matters and community affairs, your good deeds in office should ordinarily be your tools of defence and safeguards, sir. Resorting to seeking refuge in a notoriously misused and abused law like the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024, is not a sign that you are on the right track.
Not at this time, when the insecurity that once existed in the forests of the state has now come to town and is not just entering the township but is overrunning the state capital and the entire state, more than it did in the dark days when nomadic herdsmen took complete control of our forests. The kidnappings and killings hitting the state capital in broad daylight today have never happened before. It has never been this bad.
In matters of insecurity in the state, after the Governor and the Deputy Governor, the Attorney-General is the next public office holder the citizens should politically look up to for answers. In the face of these not-too-good times, how do you, as a priority, view this fight as a worthy cause? How, sir, in resolving conflicts that may, at best, have their roots in conflicting community alliances, adversarial political allegiances, mistrust, and personal grievances, is this in your best interest, sir?
As the Chief Legal Officer of the state, your position carries significant weight and responsibility. The public’s trust in your office and your struggle not to lose that trust must dominate your mind at this time more than personal victory, particularly over people the public calls your family or your brothers. History is not anyone’s friend; it keeps records of failings in public office more than it keeps triumphs.
I do not disagree that the law is the tool to resort to in seeking justice when one is aggrieved. The question to ask now is: what is your desired end in the trial of the Akoko youths? Your position demands more reflection on this matter in the face of serious temptations because your actions and inactions are now the subject of public trial. Even after this matter gets off your docket, until you relinquish this high position you hold in the state, you will be on trial in the court of public opinion, even by your own people.
Wait a bit, sir. Will the conviction of these youths give you any peace or satisfaction? Will you, as the Akoko-born leader, return to Akoko after office with the dossier that during your tenure as the Chief Law Officer of Ondo State, some youths from Akoko land—your homeland, your place of birth—misbehaved towards you and you invoked the law to send them to prison?
The truth remains that, whichever position anyone takes on it, even if you believe these youths are not your friends or even impostors in your estimation, or messengers of your adversaries, or emissaries of political or ideological opponents, or even enemies, this fight is a bad market for you. It’s a delicate and devilish invitation you should have wisely dishonoured and avoided. I am sure you will sleep less now until this fight is resolved or called off.
I urge you, sir, to reflect deeply on this matter and take appropriate steps by withdrawing these charges in court against these youths. It is in your best interest, Honourable Attorney-General, not to win this battle, and I pray you don’t, because if you win, you will lose more, and the damage may be too big to control.
I do hope you will take these concerns seriously, sir.
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