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Osun Assembly Speaker Adewale Egbedun alleges Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Gotan ordered the arrest of SSG Teslim Igbalaye after being booed at an INEC stakeholders’ meeting.
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Police insist the arrest followed an intelligence-led raid that uncovered ₦4.81 million, a voter register, PVCs and other exhibits linked to suspected electoral offences.
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Speaker claims the SSG’s arrest is part of a wider pattern of intimidation targeting top officials of the Ademola Adeleke administration.
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Egbedun urges Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu to intervene, calling for the removal of the Osun police commissioner.
July 30, (THEWILL) — Fresh controversy has engulfed the arrest of the Secretary to the Osun State Government (SSG), Teslim Igbalaye, after the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, accused the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, of orchestrating the operation in retaliation for being publicly booed at an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) stakeholders’ meeting.
The Speaker’s account sharply contradicts the official position of the Osun State Police Command, which has maintained that Igbalaye’s arrest was the outcome of an intelligence-led operation that uncovered cash, voter registers and other exhibits suspected to be linked to electoral offences.
The conflicting narratives have deepened the political storm surrounding Wednesday’s raid on the SSG’s residence in Osogbo, with the Osun State Government insisting the police action was politically motivated, while the command argues it was a lawful criminal investigation.
In a personally signed statement issued on Thursday, Egbedun described the circumstances leading to the SSG’s arrest as a disturbing abuse of police powers that should alarm every defender of democracy and the rule of law.
According to him, he attended the INEC stakeholders’ meeting alongside Deputy Governor Kola Adewusi and Igbalaye, where Commissioner Gotan was booed by members of the public while addressing participants.
“We all witnessed the unfortunate moment when Commissioner Gotan was booed while on the podium by citizens of Osun State. Immediately he returned to his seat, he looked directly towards us. At that moment, the SSG laughed”, the Speaker said.
Egbedun alleged that immediately after the incident, the police commissioner picked up his phone and began making several calls, prompting him to suspect that something unusual was about to happen.
“The next thing I observed was Commissioner Gotan picking up his telephone and making a series of calls. From what I saw, I turned to the SSG and said, ‘The Commissioner of Police has just ordered your arrest'”, he stated.
According to the Speaker, only a few minutes later, Igbalaye received a telephone call informing him that police officers had surrounded his residence.
“A few minutes later, the SSG received a telephone call informing him that police officers were waiting for him at his residence. He immediately stood up and left the event, leaving the Deputy Governor and me behind”, he added.
Egbedun said the SSG later informed him that he had been invited to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) after police allegedly recovered about ₦4 million and two voter cards belonging to members of his political party who were meeting within his compound.
“I honestly do not understand how such an allegation justified inviting, or attempting to arrest, a public official of his standing”, he said.
Police Stand by Intelligence-Led Operation
The Speaker’s account differs significantly from the version presented by the Osun State Police Command.
The Police spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, had said operatives acted on credible intelligence that suspected members of a criminal gang were hiding in Osogbo.
According to the command, six persons, including Igbalaye, were arrested during the operation, while officers recovered ₦4,810,500, a voter register covering Wards 1 to 15, two Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), a Dynabook laptop, a photocopier and a printer.
The police said one of those arrested, Oladele Abiodun, was already on its watchlist in connection with alleged criminal activities.
The command added that the recovered exhibits raised serious concerns over possible vote-buying, criminal conspiracy, harbouring of a wanted suspect and other offences under the Electoral Act 2022.
It maintained that investigations are ongoing to establish the source of the recovered funds, identify everyone connected with the exhibits and determine whether any electoral or criminal offences were committed.
The police also dismissed reports that dozens of people were arrested during the operation, insisting only six adult suspects were taken into custody.
Speaker Alleges Pattern of Intimidation
Egbedun further alleged that the SSG’s arrest was part of a sustained campaign of intimidation against officials of the Ademola Adeleke administration.
He recalled an incident in which, after receiving intelligence that armed thugs were planning to attack his residence, the Commissioner of Police allegedly ordered all officers attached to his security detail to report to police headquarters for questioning.
“We received credible intelligence that some thugs were planning to attack my residence. My security personnel and I remained on high alert in anticipation of the attack.
“However, to my greatest surprise, my police orderly received a call from Commissioner Gotan directing that every police officer attached to me should report to his office for questioning that very day”, he alleged.
The Speaker said he confronted the commissioner directly, telling him he would not succumb to intimidation or abandon Osun State because of threats.
He also alleged that intelligence available to him indicated that some police officers had, over the past two weeks, been plotting to implicate and arrest him.
Despite the alleged threats, Egbedun said he remained resolute and confident that justice would prevail.
The Speaker appealed to the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to urgently intervene and review the conduct of Commissioner Gotan. He argued that the people of Osun deserved professional, impartial and law-abiding policing, urging the police hierarchy to address what he described as growing intimidation under the current leadership of the state command.
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