A supremacy contest is raging between the Kwara State Police Command and the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress following the suspension or banning of rallies, processions and political meetings in Kwara State by the command.

While the APC in unambiguous words expressed disapproval to the directive, the Peoples Democratic Party said there was nothing wrong with the police directive as it claimed that the ban was not targeted at any party but was to ensure peace and harmony and prevent violence in the state.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ajayi Okasanmi, in an interview with newsmen, said the ban was not a new directive but an enforcement of a section of the Electoral Act which prohibited campaigns and politicking before three months to the general elections.

He also said it was intended to prevent violence which was witnessed in the past during some political activities. He noted that the police command was not against any political party but was ensuring the safety of all stakeholders.v

"The ban on public rallies, processions and political meetings throughout the state is in force, please," Okesanmi said.

He stated that according to the Electoral Act, political activities and campaigns are expected to start sometime about three months to the election.

According to him, the current order is a reminder by the police to politicians to abide by the laws of the land. He urged all stakeholders to comply with the directive and appealed to party leaders to ensure that their members complied with the order in their own interest.v

In its reaction to the police ban the State chapter of the APC dismissed it as an affront to democracy and the Nigerian Constitution.

The APC said, the police as an institution established by law, must allow itself to be guided by law and history rather than arbitrariness.

The Publicity Secretary of Kwara APC, Alhaji Sulyman Buhari, claimed that the ban was not only illegal and unwarranted, but null and void in the face of the Nigerian Constitution.

ccording to him, the police lack the powers to ban rallies, procession and political meetings in the state. He also claimed that only Governor Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, who doubles as the Chief Security Officer of the state, has such constitutional powers.

Buhari reasoned that the fundamental rights to freedom of conscience, expression, assembly and association of the people as guaranteed by Sections 38, 39 and 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should not be violated by the police which is an institution responsible for the enforcement of same fundamental human rights.

Buhari added that the Kwara State Police Command should be reminded that when a Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu, attempted to impose ban on political rallies in Rivers State and was defeated by law and the people of Rivers State.

He said, "Again, when a Commissioner of Police banned rallies and protests in Abuja in June, 2014, the then Inspector-General of Police overruled the ban and reiterated that Nigerians have the right to organise protests and rallies.

"Aside facts that the statement conveying the purported ban on political rallies is conspicuously devoid of why political rallies were banned and where the police command derived such powers, there is fundamentally no basis for such ban in Kwara State."

Buhari said the state is not under siege and that no form of siege; not even police siege, is acceptable to the party and residents of the state.

"Since we have highlighted and proved without doubt that the ban on political meetings and rallies is illegal and unconstitutional, the Kwara State Police Command should summon the courage to reverse itself on the unlawful ban forthwith," he said.

But the state chapter of the PDP berated the APC for rejecting the police ban.

The state PDP spokesman, Chief Rex Olawoye, said by rejecting the order, the APC leadership had confirmed the fears of residents of the state that the APC is allegedly unruly and deviant.

Olawoye stated that all the police command seeks to prevent is the continued degeneration of the security of the state and nothing more.

He added that the directive was not targeted at the APC alone but all groups and individuals irrespective of their political leanings.

He wondered why the APC was crying more than other institutions that were affected by the order.

"Does the APC have other motives other than what it is making the public believe?" he asked.

Olawoye said PDP members believe that the police would not have placed the ban on political gatherings but for the violent conduct of some people in the state.

"And as an institution whose primary responsibility is to protect lives and property in the state, the police would not stand by while the state is turned into a theatre of war," he said.

He noted that for over two weeks, there had been violence in registration centres in some parts of the state under the guise of rallies and public processions.

He wondered if the police would have banned rallies and political gatherings around the registration points if attempts were not made to subvert the rule of the game.

It is our contention that the right of the APC to protest or hold rallies in whatever guise, is not elastic. It is subject to their leaders' responsibility to ensure decorum and sanity - a commitment which the APC leadership has unfortunately not been able to extract from its members across the state.

"This is the spirit and the letter of Section 48 of the 1999 Constitution which creates exceptions where right could be deviated upon when the collective security of the people is at stake," Olawoye said.

He stated that it behoves on the leadership of the APC to call their members to order, especially during the second round of voter registration to be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

He said, "As a peace loving party, we are in full support of attempts by the police to stem the tide of violence that now threatens the corporate existence of Kwara State.

"We are confident that the police would relax its order as soon as the political class in Kwara, particularly the APC, shows a firmer commitment to uphold the sanctity of the rule of law and the security of lives and property of the citizens of the state."

The Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Ilorin chapter, Mr. Mobolaji Ojibara, stated that the police was right to ban campaigns before three months to the election.

He stated that the Electoral Act provided that political campaigns must only start from three months to the election.

He said if the police had not enforced the law before, it did not mean that they should continue to ignore such legal infringements, adding that enforcing such a law was proper and legal.

According to him, the police has the constitutional duty to protect lives and property in the state and take any legal action it deemed fit to prevent violence in the state.

Ojibara said it would be wise for all stakeholders to obey lawful directive and orders from the police to ensure that there was no violence in the state and that lives and property in the state were protected.

He added that complying with lawful directives from the police would also ensure that there was no breakdown of law and order and that public peace was not breached.

"The Electoral Act is clear that unless it is three months before the election, the ban on campaign will not be lifted. So, if any political party is seen as engaging in any act that can be translated into campaigning, they are bound to be stopped.

"The Electoral umpire said there will not be campaign before three months to the election. The fact that some people had been doing it and they had not stopped them does not mean that they cannot now stop people they perceive that are committing the offense," Ojibara said.