Disagreement Between Adeleke Campaign Council and Police Over Arrest of Candidate

The Imole Campaign Council and the Osun State Police Command had a disagreement on Saturday about the arrest of Popoola Alaba. He is the Accord Party candidate for Ijesa South House of Representatives. The council, through its Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee, Bamidele Salam, called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Alaba.

The council claimed that Alaba and three other Accord Party members were abducted on Saturday. This was done by police officers led by Wemimo, who is said to be attached to Senator Francis Fadahunsi. According to the council, Alaba and the others were arrested while they were meeting with Accord Party canvassers. They alleged that the police took them away by force.

The council mentioned that Alaba was taken to the Osun State Police Command headquarters in Osogbo. They also said that the police assaulted several party members during this incident. “Information available to us indicates that the arrest was masterminded by Senator Fadahunsi. His intention is to keep Alaba and several other Accord leaders out of circulation till after elections.”

The council added, “Credible intelligence at our disposal indicated that the arrest of Alaba is one of the outcomes of a recent secret meeting. This meeting included Senator Fadahunsi, the Osun Commissioner of Police, Mr Ibrahim Gotan, and another top security officer in the state. They planned to unlawfully detain Accord leaders.”

The council warned that the Osun State Police Command and Commissioner Ibrahim Gotan will be held responsible if anything happens to Alaba. They also accused the police of doing political work and targeting Accord Party members. They mentioned that a party member, Yomi Akanji, was shot dead by political thugs near his home in the Olude area of Osogbo on Friday evening.

“The father of three was waylaid by the assailants, and he was unable to escape from them as they shot him in his car,” the council stated. The Police Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Ojelabi, rejected these claims. He said Alaba was arrested due to a petition dated July 4 about illegal mining and other offenses.

Ojelabi added that the four people arrested with Alaba attacked police officers while trying to rescue him. They also damaged a police van during the altercation. “He (Alaba) was arrested due to a petition written against him dated July 4. This petition was sent to the Inspector General of Police and forwarded to our command. A team from Abuja worked with our operatives.”

When asked, the Media Adviser to Fadahunsi, Sam Segun-Progress, dismissed the allegations against the senator. He said Fadahunsi should not be involved in the matter between Alaba and the police as it was unrelated to him. Segun-Progress said, “We consider the statement to be unfortunate, reckless, and completely devoid of credible evidence.”

He continued, “For the avoidance of doubt, Senator Francis Fadahunsi has absolutely nothing to do with the allegations in the statement. Dragging his name into this issue without any verifiable evidence is unfair and a desperate attempt to tarnish the reputation of a man who has earned respect through years of dedicated public service.”