The speaker of the Osun state house of assembly, Adewale Egbedun, has accused the police commissioner of Osun state, Ibrahim Gotan, of ordering the arrest of Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Teslim Igbalaye, after he mocked him at a public event.
Egbedun made the claim in a personally signed statement on Thursday, July 30, saying he witnessed the incident at the meeting attended by the deputy governor and Igbalaye.
According to the speaker, Gotan was booed while addressing participants at the meeting and, after returning to his seat, looked towards the officials’ table where Igbalaye was seated.
Egbedun said Igbalaye laughed at the incident, after which he observed the commissioner pick up his phone and make several calls.
The speaker said he then told Igbalaye that the commissioner had ordered his arrest, adding that the SSG received a call minutes later informing him that police officers were waiting for him at his residence.
He said Igbalaye later told him that he had been invited to the state criminal investigation department over items recovered from his compound.
According to Egbedun, the police said they recovered N4 million and two Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) belonging to members of Igbalaye’s political party who were holding a meeting at the residence.
He questioned how the recovery justified the invitation or attempted arrest of a public official.
The speaker’s account contradicts that of the Osun state police command, which said the operation followed intelligence that criminal gangs were hiding in Osogbo.
The command’s spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, said officers recovered N4,810,500, two Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs), a voter register and other items said to be linked to electoral offences.
He said six adults were arrested during the operation, dismissing claims that dozens of people were taken into custody.
Egbedun also accused Gotan of intimidating him, claiming that police officers attached to his security detail were previously ordered to report to the commissioner’s office after he received intelligence about a planned attack on his residence.
He further claimed to have received information that some officers under Gotan were planning to implicate and arrest him.
The speaker appealed to the inspector-general of police, Olatunji Disu, to intervene, urging him to address what he described as intimidation and hardship experienced by residents under Gotan’s leadership.
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