The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has charged the state commissioner of police, Mr Kehinde Longe, to swing into action with a view to arresting, investigating and prosecuting the leaders and members of the ruling party who have been attacking, maiming and killing the APC members and their supporters in the state.
The acting chairman of the party Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement made available to newsmen by the party’s Director of Media, Kola Olabisi in Osogbo on Sunday, appealed to the state commissioner of police and other statutory security agencies in the state to urgently come to the aid of the APC members and leaders who are being attacked and killed by political thugs since the inauguration of Governor Ademola Adeleke on November 27, 2022.
Lawal stated that one attribute of the ruling party on the state is that they would be the ones attacking and killing our members and at the same time be the ones complaining.
In his words: “Why has it been difficult for the police to arrest Sanya Omirin, Lere Oyewumi, Clement Akanni Olorunwa, Adesina Rabiu Atanda(ARA), Sarafa Awotunde a.k.a. ‘Spain’, all PDP chieftains in Osun State whose visuals were trending on social media, inciting their members and hoodlums to attack, maim and kill opposition members and their supporters?
“The leadership of the police in Osun State is giving room for us, the APC members and leaders, to suspect and conclude that the police has been doing the bidding of the PDP and Adeleke in the state.
“The long and short of my political sermon is that the leadership of the Osun State Police Command should maintain visible and verifiable neutrality in the discharge of the statutory duties of policing at all times, especially during this critical period in the history of the state.
“The allegations of violence levelled against the APC members by the leadership of the PDP in the state should be discountenanced as lacking in substance and fact but frivolous borne out of desperation merely orchestrated by the PDP leadership to cage the opposition in the state, thereby creating a non-level playground for genuine politics and politicking to thrive”, the Osun State APC chairman stated.
Reacting, Osun police spokesperson, SP Yemisi Opalola debunked that the command is biased, saying the major concern of the Police is to tackle crime, irrespective of those involved.
“The issue of bias against police is misplaced, the PDP chieftain whose video of inciting violence went viral has been arrested and he is being questioned.
The police loyalty is to the people not to any party, we tackle crime and criminal without party affiliation and we will continue to ensure that Osun remains peaceful as it was before now”, she said.