The Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, has alleged that there are plans to implicate and arrest him following the detention of the Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaye, by the police over alleged vote-buying.
Igbalaye was arrested on Wednesday night alongside five others after operatives of the Osun State Police Command raided his residence in Osogbo. The police said they recovered N4.8 million, a Dynabook laptop, a photocopy machine, a printer, two voter cards and a voter register covering Wards 1 to 15.
According to the police, the cash and electoral materials recovered during the operation raised suspicions of possible electoral offences and other criminal activities.
Reacting in a statement on Thursday, Egbedun described the arrest of the SSG as an abuse of power, alleging that the state Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, had also concluded plans to arrest him.
The lawmaker claimed he had received intelligence over the past two weeks that some police officers were allegedly strategising to implicate and detain him ahead of the forthcoming governorship election.
Egbedun alleged that his relationship with the police commissioner deteriorated after he challenged him over what he described as a planned attack on his residence by suspected political thugs.
He claimed that despite intelligence about the alleged attack, the commissioner directed police officers attached to him to report to his office for questioning, a move he said raised concerns about his safety.
The speaker maintained that he would not be intimidated or forced to leave Osun, insisting he remained committed to staying in the state regardless of the alleged threats.
He also dismissed the allegation of vote-buying against the SSG, claiming he anticipated Igbalaye's arrest after an incident at an Independent National Electoral Commission stakeholders' meeting in Osogbo.
According to him, the deputy governor, the SSG and himself attended the meeting where the commissioner of police was allegedly booed by some participants, after which the police chief reportedly made a series of phone calls.
Egbedun claimed he immediately told the SSG that he believed an arrest had been ordered, adding that Igbalaye later received a call informing him that police officers were waiting at his residence before he was subsequently detained.
The speaker appealed to the Inspector-General of Police to intervene, alleging that residents of Osun were being subjected to intimidation under the leadership of the state's police commissioner.
Efforts to obtain the reaction of the Osun State Police Command to the allegations were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
The development comes amid heightened political tension ahead of the August 15 governorship election, with the major political parties trading accusations as campaigns intensify across the state.
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