The Police have detained Osun State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Mayowa Asejoorin, over gunfire that erupted during an All Progressives Congress, APC, rally in Ilesa on Saturday.
Four persons were said to have sustained injuries during the disturbance.
Responding to the development, Governor Ademola Adeleke’s campaign organisation, the Imole Campaign Council, alleged that the arrest was part of a plan to suppress Accord leaders in the state.
Regarding the shooting, sources said APC supporters participating in the rally within Ilesa metropolis were allegedly attacked by some Accord leaders, during which several gunshots were reportedly fired.
Consequently, a number of people suffered varying degrees of injuries, among them a 14-year-old identified as Ilesanmi.
According to media report, no death had been recorded, while those injured were taken to hospital for medical attention.
An eyewitness, Kola Adeoti, said the teenager was inside his mother’s shop when a stray bullet struck him on the thigh.
He further alleged that operatives of a state-backed security outfit accompanying the Accord leaders fired directly at APC supporters, triggering protests in Ilesa.
Police explain reason for arrest
When contacted, the spokesperson of the Osun State Police Command, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, confirmed the incident.
He stated that the Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Mayowa Asejoorin, was apprehended in connection with the shooting.
“Immediately the incident was reported, our personnel moved to the scene, cordoned off the area before some exhibit were recovered, which included expanded cartridges, Amotekun personnel caps.
“Also, Mr Adejoorin was arrested the scene and has been taken to the command for questioning as part of the investigation process,” he added.
Imole Campaign Council condemns arrest
Reacting, the spokesperson of the Imole Campaign Council, Pelumi Olajengbesi, told journalists at the Imole Media Centre in Osogbo on Saturday that the manner in which the arrest was carried out was especially troubling.
He described the action as resembling a bandit-style abduction executed under the guise of police authority.
Olajengbesi urged the Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, to call the Osun Police Command and the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gothan, to order.
He also said Accord leaders and supporters would not be intimidated and insisted that the will of the people could not be arrested.
He said, “The latest victim of this alarming pattern is the Honourable Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, Hon Mayowa Adejoorin, a prominent native of Ikiyinwa in Obokun Local Government Area of the state.
“The manner of his arrest is particularly disturbing. We consider what happened to Hon Adejoorin nothing short of a bandit-line abduction carried out under the cover of police authority.
“For some time now, we have witnessed a disturbing pattern in which prominent Accord leaders and supporters in Ijesaland are picked up by the Police on allegations that are apparently motivated by sinister political calculations, kept away from their families, communities and campaign activities, and thereby removed from circulation at a critical period of the electoral process.
Adeleke’s camp alleges political intimidation
“The APC is desperate in Ijesaland. And rather than face the people in a free, fair and competitive election, there is a growing concern that these rejected political actors may be seeking to weaken the Accord Party’s structures by removing its leaders from the field.
“We are therefore deeply concerned that these arrests may be connected to an attempt to create an environment conducive to electoral manipulation in Ijesaland ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
“We therefore call directly on the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Tunde Disu, to urgently intervene in the situation in Osun State.
“Mr Inspector-General, the buck stops at your table. We call on you to rein in the Osun State Police Command and Mr Gottan in particular and immediately investigate the disturbing pattern of arrests involving Accord leaders, particularly in Ijesaland.
“We demand answers. On what basis was Hon Mayowa Adejoorin arrested? What offence has he committed? What evidence exists against him? Why was his arrest carried out in such a manner? And why does the Police appear increasingly willing to deploy its powers only against Accord political leaders at this critical moment in our democratic process?
“We demand the immediate release of Hon Mayowa Adejoorin, as we believe, there is no lawful and credible basis for his abduction and detention.”
