Police have confirmed the arrest of the Secretary to the State Government, SSG in Osun State, South-West Nigeria, Teslim Igbalaye, and five other individuals following an operation carried out at a property associated with the government official in Osogbo.
According to the police, the operation was launched after intelligence reports indicated that suspected members of a criminal gang were hiding within the Oroki Estate area of the state capital.
In a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, the command said police identified the six persons taken into custody as Igbalaye Teslim, 47; Akande Taiwo, 60; Oladele Abiodun, 38; Adeyemo Lukman, 45; Olaoye Muftau, 50; and Aderemi Musliu, 40.
Ojelabi said officers recovered several items from the premises, including ₦4,810,500 in cash, a Dynabook laptop, a photocopy machine, a printer, two voter cards and a voter register covering Wards 1 to 15.
According to the police, ongoing investigations are examining allegations that may include vote-buying under Section 121 of the Electoral Act, 2022, criminal conspiracy, harbouring or concealing a wanted suspect, and any additional offences that may emerge from the investigation.
The statement noted that all recovered items have been taken into police custody for forensic examination and further investigation.
Reacting to the development, the Osun State Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi, said the SSG’s residence was invaded by police led by the Deputy Commissioner of Operations while the SSG was at the INEC stakeholders forum in Osogbo.
Alimi also alleged that the residence of the Commissioner for Energy in Ikire was raided on Monday with properties destroyed, while five other commissioners have reported their homes being “shadowed and bursted.”
The government further claimed that several Accord Party members are currently being held in CID cells without bail.
Describing the development as “reprehensible unprofessional conduct by the police in support of the state APC,” the government said the police had become “a major threat to the conduct of free and fair election in Osun state.”
He appealed to traditional rulers, the Police Service Commission, the Inspector-General of Police, the National Security Adviser, and President Bola Tinubu to intervene and halt the targeted violence before it leads to a total breakdown of law and order.
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Editor: Terverr Tyav
