By AfrikTimes | Osogbo
Governor Ademola Adeleke’s campaign organization has demanded the immediate release of Alaba Popoola, the Accord Party’s House of Representatives candidate for Ijesa South, popularly known as Alabama, alleging his arrest was politically engineered to remove Accord figures from circulation ahead of the August 15 governorship election. The Osun Police Command has pushed back with a competing account, saying the arrest followed a specific petition filed weeks earlier.
TICC’s version
In a statement signed by Rep. Bamidele Salam, Chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee of the Imole Campaign Council (TICC), the group said Popoola and three other Accord members were seized Friday morning by a team of police officers it says was led by one Wemimo, described as a security aide to APC Senator Francis Fadahunsi, and taken to the Osun State Police Command headquarters in Osogbo.
According to the statement, the men were in a meeting with Accord canvassers when officers forced their way into the premises, made the arrests, and physically assaulted several party members present. TICC alleged the operation was masterminded by Senator Fadahunsi, whom it accused of working to keep Popoola and other Accord leaders detained until after the election. The group further claimed to have “credible intelligence” that the arrest followed a private meeting between Fadahunsi, Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Gotan, and an unnamed senior security officer, at which alleged Accord leaders were selected for arrest and unlawful detention.
TICC warned that Gotan and the police command would be held responsible for Popoola’s safety, and separately reported that an Accord member, Yomi David Akanji, described as a father of three, was shot dead by suspected political thugs near his home in Olude, Osogbo, the previous night, an incident the group cited as part of what it described as a broader climate of threats facing its members.
The police account
Responding to the allegations, Police Public Relations Officer CSP Abiodun Ojelabi told reporters that Popoola’s arrest stemmed from a petition dated July 4 alleging illegal mining, predating Friday’s incident by roughly three weeks. Ojelabi said the four men arrested alongside Popoola attacked police officers during the operation and damaged a police vehicle, and confirmed that all of them remain in custody as investigations continue. Ojelabi’s account did not address TICC’s allegations regarding Senator Fadahunsi or the claimed meeting with Commissioner Gotan.
A second, related arrest cited by TICC
Salam’s statement on Popoola followed an earlier post, also on his Facebook page, in which he raised a separate case: the arrest and detention of a Law School student, identified as Olaniyan Sodiq Akinola, in Iddo-Osun. According to Salam, Akinola’s only “offence” was using his Facebook page to call attention to alleged attempts by some APC members to compromise the ongoing collection of Permanent Voters Cards in his polling ward.
Not the first clash between Accord and the state police
This is the latest in a string of disputes between the Accord Party and the Osun Police Command in the run-up to the election. Earlier this week, Accord state chairman Pastor Victor Akande separately accused police of selective enforcement, alleging officers were shielding APC-aligned individuals from arrest while pursuing opposition figures, an allegation the police command publicly rejected as unfounded. A separate incident last month saw Accord-aligned protesters accuse suspected APC-linked thugs of abducting two of their members in Ilesa, which police confirmed and said was under investigation, while the APC campaign in turn accused Accord of staging the incident to damage its image.
AfrikTimes note
The specific allegations concerning Senator Fadahunsi’s involvement, the described private meeting with Commissioner Gotan, the circumstances of Yomi David Akanji’s killing, and the claims underlying Akinola’s arrest have not been independently verified, and AfrikTimes has seen no public statement from Senator Fadahunsi in response. As with our earlier report on this story, it’s worth noting Rep. Salam’s role as chairman of Governor Adeleke’s own campaign media committee, which gives his camp a direct stake in how these incidents and the wider security narrative around the election are perceived. We will update this report as more information becomes available.
