Osun Speaker Alleges CP's Revenge Over Public Booing Led to SSG's Arrest

The recent arrest of the Osun State Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaye, has sparked controversy, with the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, providing a detailed account of the events leading up to the arrest. According to Egbedun, the state Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, ordered Igbalaye's arrest in retaliation for being booed by citizens at a public event. The Speaker claimed that he witnessed the incident at an Independent National Electoral Commission stakeholders' meeting, where Gotan was booed while on the podium. Immediately after the incident, Gotan allegedly made a series of phone calls, which Egbedun believed were instructions to arrest Igbalaye. The Speaker's prediction proved accurate, as Igbalaye was later invited to the State Criminal Investigation Department over allegations of items recovered from his compound. The Osun Police Command, however, provided a different account of the arrest, stating that officers acted on intelligence that criminal gangs were hiding out in Osogbo and recovered N4,810,500 and other items suspected to be linked to electoral offences. Egbedun expressed concerns over the abuse of power and the implications for the state's security, citing a personal experience with Gotan where his police orderly was directed to report to the Commissioner's office for questioning. The Speaker has appealed to the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to intervene and relieve the people of Osun State of the hardship and intimidation they have endured under Gotan's leadership.