Adewale Olumide Egbedun, Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, has accused Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Gotan of abusing his office in relation to the arrest of Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Teslim Igbalaye.
The allegations arise from an operation by the Osun State Police Command on Wednesday, during which Igbalaye and others were arrested as part of an investigation into alleged vote-buying in Osogbo. Police stated that the operation was based on credible intelligence and resulted in the recovery of large sums of cash, voter cards, and other items.
In a statement on X, Egbedun recounted that he was present at an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) stakeholders’ meeting alongside the Deputy Governor and Igbalaye when the police commissioner was booed by the audience. Following this, Egbedun claimed Igbalaye laughed, leading the commissioner to make several phone calls, raising his suspicion that an order for the SSG’s arrest had been given.
Egbedun further alleged that Igbalaye received a call indicating that police officers were waiting at his residence, prompting him to leave the meeting. Igbalaye later informed Egbedun that he was invited to the State Criminal Investigation Department after officers reportedly recovered ₦4 million and two voter cards from individuals holding a political meeting in his compound.
The Speaker questioned the rationale for inviting or attempting to arrest such a senior government official based on these allegations. He also claimed to have experienced intimidation himself, alleging that the police commissioner ordered officers assigned to his security detail to report to police headquarters despite intelligence indicating that his residence could be targeted by political thugs.
Egbedun alleged that some police officers had conspired to implicate and arrest him, stating he had received advice to leave the state for his safety but chose to remain.
He called on the Inspector-General of Police to intervene, urging the police leadership to ensure professional, impartial, and lawful policing in Osun State.
The Osun State Police Command has reiterated that the arrests were part of an ongoing investigation into alleged electoral offenses and were conducted based on intelligence gathered by the command.
