By Hon. Adewale Adeyinka has alleged that he narrowly escaped an attack on his way home from a stakeholders’ meeting in Osogbo, in an incident he says was orchestrated by Francis Eniade. The Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adewale Olumide Egbedun, has since corroborated parts of the account and confirmed that two suspects arrested at the scene, along with a firearm, have been handed over to the Department of State Services (DSS) for investigation.
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According to a statement personally signed by Adeyinka, he noticed a three-vehicle convoy he identified as belonging to Eniade, comprising a personal vehicle, a Hilux truck and a van, while passing through Inisa. He said the convoy kept its distance at first but closed in as his vehicle approached his residence in Ekusa town, a stretch he described as relatively isolated, with one vehicle attempting to force his car to stop.
Adeyinka said his driver refused to stop and instead drove through the bush to evade the vehicles. The chairman said they then headed for the Okuku Divisional Police Station, only to find the gate locked, forcing them to drive around the town while, he said, the pursuit continued and gunshots were heard.
He said he was unable to reach the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Okuku by phone and instead called the Speaker, who advised him to return to the police station. On returning, Adeyinka said the gate was opened by an officer and his vehicle drove in, followed by the vehicle he identified as Eniade’s, while the van he said was carrying suspected thugs and people in fake security uniforms held back at a distance.
Adeyinka said the occupants of the van fled on hearing the siren of the Speaker’s approaching convoy, apparently without knowing who was arriving, and were pursued by members of the public. Two of them were apprehended and a firearm recovered, he said, after which security aides attached to the Speaker’s convoy removed the suspects from the crowd to prevent mob action. He said the Speaker then directed that the suspects and the recovered firearm be taken to Osogbo and handed to the DSS.
Adeyinka thanked residents of Okuku for intervening and called on security agencies to conduct a “thorough, impartial and transparent investigation,” including into the identities of those arrested, the firearm recovered, the vehicles involved and the full circumstances of the alleged pursuit.
Speaker’s account
In a separate statement, Speaker Egbedun said he was on his way from a press conference at the Osun State House of Assembly when he received a distress call from Adeyinka, who told him he was being pursued by a convoy linked to Eniade. Egbedun said he instructed the chairman to make for the Okuku police station and then headed there himself with his convoy and security detail.
Egbedun said he drove directly into the station without prior knowledge of what had occurred outside, and only learned after arriving that two men had been apprehended by members of the public and a firearm recovered from them. He said he ordered his Chief Detail to remove the two men from the crowd to prevent mob action, and subsequently directed that they be taken to Osogbo and handed to the DSS along with the firearm.
The Speaker said the matter “reinforces the urgent need” for the Inspector-General of Police to investigate a separate, previously circulated video he described as containing a threat against him and other members of his party. He said he would not be drawn into what he called “false narratives and deliberate misinformation” being circulated by “desperate political actors,” and called for a “thorough, impartial and professional investigation” covering the identities of the suspects, the firearm and ammunition recovered, the ownership of the vehicles allegedly involved, and the sequence of events.
As of this report, AfrikTimes has not independently verified the claim that the pursuing convoy belonged to or was directed by Francis Eniade, and has not obtained a response from Eniade or his camp. The Nigeria Police Force and the DSS are yet to issue a public statement confirming the arrests, the identities of the two suspects, or the firearm reportedly recovered. This report will be updated as further details become available.
