Osun Assembly Speaker Alleges Police Intimidation Tactics

Rt. Hon.

Adewale Olumide Egbedun, the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, claimed that the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, ordered the arrest of Alhaji Teslim Igbalaye, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), after an incident during an INEC stakeholders’ meeting in Osogbo. Egbedun released a statement on Thursday detailing the events leading to the police's invitation of the SSG.

He accused Gotan of using his position to intimidate government officials and political opponents, calling for his redeployment. The Nigeria Police Force had previously arrested Igbalaye and others over allegations of vote-buying, recovering N4.81 million, a laptop, a printer, a photocopy machine, voter registers, and two Permanent Voter Cards during a raid at Igbalaye's residence in Oroki Estate.

Egbedun recounted that during the meeting, attendees booed Gotan, and shortly after, he made several phone calls, leading Egbedun to suspect that an arrest order was being issued. Igbalaye later received a call about police officers arriving at his residence, prompting his early departure from the meeting.