Kwara State Police Commissioner, Salihu Garba, yesterday said the “Peace Accord” signed by leaders of political parties and their gubernatorial candidates in the state early last month was no longer effective.

Garba, while opening another round of talks on peace among political parties, said it was regrettable that the accord signed in January, “has become a worthless paper” but warned that his command would no longer tolerate the breach of the law by anybody, no matter how highly placed.

The police boss lamented the command’s constraint in prosecuting offenders due to the ongoing industrial action by judicial workers. On their part, party leaders in the meeting insisted that there was need for more commitment by the police to fighting political violence in the state. They expressed concern that the series of meetings they had with the police did not yield any meaningful result.

In his six-page address titled “Enough is Enough”, the police boss promised that in the exercise of its constitutional roles, the command would not allow itself to be pocketed by any single individual, politicians or political part.

His words: “Intelligence gathered so far reveals a great increase in the rate of political thuggery and hooliganism in the ongoing electioneering period in the state resulting into various forms of attacks on political opponents, destruction of political opponents’ properties and posters as well as billboards and other allied offences associated with political violence. We have resolved to use all legally permitted means to prevent any breakdown of law and order and all offenders shall be duly prosecuted as there will be no sacred cow.”

“It has equally been decided that appropriate action will be meted out on any one no matter how highly placed that is penciled out to be involved in sponsoring political hooliganism through any direct or indirect action traceable to him or her.”

The three prominent gubernatorial candidates in the state, Alhaji AbdulFattah Ahmed of the All Progressives Congress (APC), his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Simon Ajibola and Dr. Mike Omotosho of Labour Party (LP) were absent at the event but their party leaders stood in for them to make the declaration.