The Osun State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of the Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, Mr Mayowa Adejoorin, over an incident in Ijesaland, as the Imole Campaign Council has alleged that the arrest is part of a wider plot to intimidate and silence leaders of the Accord Party ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The Commissioner, a prominent indigene of Ikiyinwa in Obokun Local Government Area, was reportedly arrested after police personnel responded to an incident in the area, during which some exhibits were allegedly recovered.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, who confirmed the arrest on Saturday, said the commissioner was taken to the Osun State Police Command for questioning as part of an ongoing investigation.
According to Ojelabi, the police moved to the scene immediately after the incident was reported and cordoned off the area before recovering some exhibits.
“Immediately the incident was reported, our personnel moved to the scene, cordoned off the area before some exhibits were recovered, which included expended cartridges and Amotekun personnel caps,” he said.
He added that Adejoorin was arrested at the scene and taken to the command for questioning in connection with the incident.
The development, however, has triggered a political controversy, with the Imole Campaign Council, the campaign organisation of the incumbent governor and Accord Party candidate, accusing the Police of using its powers to target prominent members of the party, particularly in Ijesaland.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Saturday, spokesperson of the campaign council, Barrister Pelumi Olajengbesi, described the manner of Adejoorin’s arrest as an alleged “bandit-like abduction carried out under the cover of police authority.”
Olajengbesi claimed that the arrest was part of a “disturbing pattern” in which Accord leaders and supporters were allegedly being picked up by security operatives at a critical stage of the electoral process.
He alleged that the arrests were politically motivated and designed to weaken the Accord Party’s campaign structures in Ijesaland ahead of the election.
According to him, “You cannot arrest one leader today, another tomorrow, and another the next day, and ask us to believe that all these incidents are mere coincidences.”
The campaign council also questioned the circumstances surrounding Adejoorin’s arrest, demanding to know the offence for which he was arrested, the evidence against him and why he was allegedly arrested in such a manner.
It further called on the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Tunde Disu, to urgently intervene and investigate what it described as a pattern of arrests involving Accord leaders in Ijesaland.
The council also demanded the immediate release of Adejoorin, arguing that there was no lawful and credible basis for his detention.
Olajengbesi accused the Osun State Police Command of allegedly becoming involved in partisan political activities.
The campaign council equally called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), civil society organisations and election observers to closely monitor developments in Ijesaland in the days leading to the August 15 election.
It urged INEC to ensure that all accredited political parties and their agents are allowed to participate fully in the electoral process without intimidation.
