By The Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adewale Olumide Egbedun, has given a personal account of the events leading to the arrest of the Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaiye, accusing the state Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, of ordering the action out of embarrassment.
Egbedun said he, the Deputy Governor, and the SSG were all seated together throughout an INEC stakeholders’ meeting when Gotan was booed by members of the public while addressing the gathering. He said that when Gotan returned to his seat and looked toward them, the SSG laughed, after which he observed Gotan making a series of phone calls.
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The Speaker said he turned to the SSG at that moment and remarked that the police commissioner had just ordered his arrest. He said that a few minutes later, Igbalaiye received a call informing him that police officers were waiting at his residence, prompting him to leave the event immediately.
According to Egbedun, when he later reached the SSG by phone, Igbalaiye explained that he had been invited to the state Criminal Investigation Department after police allegedly recovered N4 million and two voter cards belonging to party members who were holding a meeting within his compound. The Speaker said he did not see how such an allegation justified an attempt to arrest a public official of Igbalaiye’s standing.
Egbedun also recounted a separate incident involving himself and the police commissioner. He said that after receiving intelligence of a planned attack on his residence by suspected APC thugs, his police orderly was directed by Gotan to report to his office for questioning that same day, while the Speaker and his security detail remained on alert. Egbedun said he called the commissioner directly to make clear that he would not be intimidated or driven from his ancestral home in Onikoyi.
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The Speaker alleged that some officers under Gotan’s command had, over the preceding two weeks, been strategising on how to implicate and arrest him, and said he had been advised by others to leave the state or vacate his residence for safety reasons. He said he had rejected that advice and remained resolved to stay in Osun regardless of any threat.
Egbedun called on the Inspector-General of Police to intervene, describing the conduct of Commissioner Gotan as a source of hardship and intimidation for Osun residents, and appealed for policing in the state that is professional, impartial, and respectful of the rule of law.
