The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress on Saturday rejected Governor Ademola Adeleke’s response to allegations that he was sheltering wanted criminals in the Government House.
The APC, in a statement by its spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, on Saturday, described Adeleke’s response to Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, as “evasive.”
It would be recalled that the IG, during a visit to the Osun State Government House in Osogbo on Friday, said he had been informed that the governor was keeping criminals.
The APC, in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Olabisi, said Adeleke’s denial of keeping dangerous criminals in the Government House was an indication that he was running his government with propaganda.
However, in a swift reaction, Jamiu Olawumi, the Director of Strategic Communication of the Imole Campaign Council, a body championing the re-election of Governor Adeleke, said the APC had accused the governor of what it did while in government in the state.
Olawumi also said there were police operatives working with Adeleke who would have reported to their superior officers if the allegations by the APC were true.
But Olabisi, who referred to a viral video of a wanted criminal on the police watch list allegedly leading members of his gang into a room in the Government House, added that there were also photographs allegedly showing the governor with political thugs at functions.
“The response of the governor to this weighty allegation of his keeping some of the daredevil criminals in the Government House was grossly evasive and was at variance with the expected response to the allegation in the estimation of the right-thinking members of the society.
“The denial of Governor Adeleke that he has not been keeping dangerous political thugs in the state affirms the fact that he has added another negative feather to his nest of being a dancing governor, to a cursing governor and now a lying governor.
“It is equally worrisome that the embattled Governor Adeleke could have the effrontery to be denying his alliance and association with… on the police wanted list when it is a known fact that some of them were appointed political functionaries of the governor.
“The lowlight of the IGP’s visit was that the handlers of the defunct Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that has transformed into the deregistered Accord Party in Osun State, need to work on their members on how to behave in public, as it was shamelessly exhibited at the state Police Command,” Olabisi said.
Reacting further, Olawumi cautioned the APC against making untrue claims, saying the allegations of Adeleke harbouring wanted criminals in the Government House could put the police in a bad light.
Olawumi further said, “That allegation is spurious and irresponsible, and it is another attempt to smear the image of the Nigerian Police Force, which has the responsibility of providing security for the government and the Government House.
“An average policeman within the Government House is a representative of the Nigerian Police Force and the Inspector-General of Police. In actual fact, they were sent there to maintain order and security.
“So, if you are saying that there is a systemic failure within the police, and police officers were not able to apprehend or spot criminals within the Government House and report back to their superiors who asked them to be there, that is very, very unfortunate.”
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