…as APC, Imole Campaign Council trade blame on Ilesa shooting incident
By Ismail Azeez
The Osun State Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Mayowa Adejoorin, has narrated how he was arrested and stripped naked by officers of the Osun State Police Command.
Speaking after his release at the Osun State Government House on Sunday, Hon. Adejoorin explained how he was allegedly accosted on his way to Ilesa by officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
He said the police arrested him on suspicion of using Amotekun, the state-established security outfit, to perpetrate violence in the state ahead of the forthcoming Osun governorship election.
He further alleged that the police claimed the Amotekun operative assigned to him was not supposed to protect politicians and was not authorized to carry a rifle.
Describing the experience as politically motivated, he noted that his Amotekun operative remains in police custody.
Earlier, the Nigeria Police confirmed the arrest of Hon. Mayowa Adejoorin, the Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation under Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration, just one week before the Osun State governorship election.
According to the State Police Command, Adejoorin was arrested in connection with the alleged disruption of a political rally in Ilesa, an action it said forms part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
The command’s spokesman, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, disclosed that the commissioner was arrested at the scene and transported to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for interrogation.
He said officers responded immediately after receiving distress reports from the scene.
According to Ojelabi, police operatives secured the area and recovered several exhibits believed to be relevant to the investigation.
“Immediately the incident was reported, our personnel moved to the scene, cordoned off the area, and recovered some exhibits, including expended cartridges and Amotekun personnel caps,” he said.
In a related development, the Osun State Police Command stated that it has commenced an investigation into a shooting incident that occurred around Ilesa during a procession by supporters of a political party.
DSP Ojelabi confirmed that the command recovered four expended cartridges and one Amotekun cap at the scene.
According to the police account, the incident occurred when suspected armed men alighted from a vehicle with registration number OSHA 04 and allegedly fired sporadically near the political procession. Some of the individuals involved were reportedly dressed as personnel of the Osun State Security Network Agency, also known as Amotekun.
Ojelabi said three persons identified as Tobi Ilesanmi, Wasiu Alanide, and Aderemi Adedeji sustained gunshot injuries during the incident.
They were evacuated to a hospital, where they are currently receiving medical attention and responding to treatment.
“Following the incident, some courageous members of the public reportedly pursued the fleeing suspects and caught up with some of them. It was further alleged that one of the suspected Amotekun personnel produced a knife and attempted to use it against those who apprehended them, thereby creating an opportunity for him to escape.”
“Upon receipt of the information, operatives of the FID-IRT swiftly mobilized to the area. During the operation, a Lexus vehicle with registration number ABJ-89TS was sighted. An individual identified as an Amotekun personnel and found in possession of a pump-action firearm was reportedly inside the vehicle.”
“The vehicle and its occupants were subsequently taken into custody and transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for questioning and further investigation. Preliminary investigation has identified one of the occupants as Hon. Mayowa Adejoorin, Commissioner for Environment, Osun State, while the Amotekun personnel was identified as Odeyemi Abimbola,” Ojelabi stated.
Meanwhile, the campaign councils of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke and the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, have traded accusations over the shooting incident that disrupted the political rally in Ilesa.
The two camps offered conflicting accounts of the incident while calling on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to intervene and investigate the circumstances surrounding the violence ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The Imole Campaign Council, through its spokesperson, Pelumi Olajengbesi, raised concerns over what it described as the increasing arrest, intimidation, and alleged abduction of political leaders and supporters in Ijesaland.