High state protocol as well as guest-visitor etiquette took the backseat yesterday as Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola traded words with Vice President Mohamed Namadi Sambo, who was paying a visit to the state capital, Osogbo. The bone of contention was the arrest by the police of some members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) who were on their way to Abuja last Tuesday to witness the trial of ACN's national leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.Vice President Sambo was in Oshogbo to represent President Goodluck Jonathan, who is attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting [CHOGM] in Australia, at the inauguration of the newly completed Federal High Court Complex in the Osun State capital.Aregbesola, who was not present at the event but was represented by his deputy Mrs. Titi Laoye Tomori, fired the first shot when he accused the Federal Government of perpetrating injustice against Osun State. He said, 'The Federal Government would want us to believe that it is interested in the administration of justice in the State of Osun by providing a decent accommodation for the Federal High Court. Ironically, it is by every one of its actions promoting and perpetrating injustice against the state.'He added, 'You will notice that I did not salute the person of the Vice President in my opening speech. I only recognized his office. I mean no disrespect for him but I did it in protest at the outrageous manner the Federal Government through its agency, the police, has treated my person and office in flagrant violation of federal principle, rights of citizens and liberty of people.'The governor also said, 'Without any valid reason whatsoever, the police on Tuesday unlawfully detained 29 members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) who were travelling to Abuja in the official vehicle of the Office of the Governor of the State of Osun and illegally attempted to forcibly deport them back to Osun three times until my intervention to prevent such an unlawful act.''This was done ostensibly to stop them from attending the farcical trial of our leader and former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. You will recall that in September when hearing was to begin in his case, 28 buses carrying our party members to Abuja were stopped and detained by the police. Their vehicles were impounded and they were eventually prevented from attending the trial.The Vice President smiled at Aregbesola's jabs and when it came time to deliver his own address, he said, 'I'm pleased to note that with this commissioning of the Federal High Court Complex in Oshogbo today, we are adding value to the course of justice and we have brought justice closer to you. So, if you have grievances against the Federal Government, you now have closer avenue to lodge your complaints.' He then added a punch of his own, saying he was advising the Osun State Government to construct an access road to the new Federal High Court complex 'so that people can get to this place easily. I hope Osun State Government will construct this road.'After the sharp exchange, Vice President Sambo left Osogbo by helicopter for Ilorin, from where he boarded a presidential aircraft and returned to Abuja.
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