...Faults police investigation

The spokesperson for the Imole Campaign Council (TICC), the campaign organisation for Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke‘s re-election bid, on Sunday described the alleged assassination plot against the lawmaker representing Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency, Hon. Wole Oke, as a hoax.

The council also accused the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, of complicity in the handling of the investigation, alleging that a viral video of one of the suspects contradicted the police account of the incident.

The Osun State Police Command had, through its spokesperson, SP Abiodun Ojelabi, on Thursday paraded three suspects — Olamilekan Oriyomi, 24; Ayotunde Ikupolati, 44; and Femi Fakinleye, 31 — over the alleged attempted assassination of Oke.

According to the police, the suspects were arrested on Tuesday after allegedly attempting to kill the lawmaker following his visit to the palace of the Ajalaye of Ipetu-Ijesa, Oba Agunbiade Oke, in Oriade Local Government Area of the state.

Oke is the Director-General of the governorship campaign of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Osun State, Bola Oyebamiji.

However, addressing a press conference in Osogbo on Sunday, TICC spokesperson Pelumi Olajengbesi argued that a viral video of the alleged gang leader, Olamilekan Oriyomi, suggested that the suspects were hired to provide security for Oke at the event where the alleged assassination attempt reportedly occurred.

Olajengbesi said the video raised serious questions about the credibility of the police investigation.

“The Imole Campaign Council is compelled to address the public following the emergence of video evidence that completely exposes the false narrative surrounding the purported assassination attempt on Hon. Wole Oke, the AMBO Campaign Director-General,” he said.

“The video raises fundamental questions about the integrity of the investigation conducted by the Osun State Police Command under the watch of Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Gotan. It contradicts the public claims made during the parade of the suspects and further strengthens our long-held position that innocent people and leaders of the Accord Party were deliberately targeted for political reasons.”

He called on the police to release the complete, unedited confessional statements and all video recordings obtained from the suspects from the time of their arrest until the conclusion of their interrogation.

“The public deserves to know the truth, not carefully selected narratives designed to achieve political objectives,” he said.

Olajengbesi further questioned why the police allegedly claimed that influential individuals were implicated in the plot without making the suspects’ statements public.

“The Police Command must explain why it publicly claimed that influential individuals were mentioned in the alleged plot while withholding the actual confessional statements from Nigerians. This selective disclosure has seriously undermined public confidence in the neutrality and professionalism of the police,” he added.

He warned that failure to make the materials public would reinforce public suspicion that the investigation was politically motivated.

“If the Commissioner of Police fails to make these materials public, Nigerians will be left with no choice but to conclude that the Osun State Commissioner of Police has allowed himself to be used in a politically motivated attempt to smear innocent citizens and manipulate public opinion for ulterior motives,” Olajengbesi said.

He also called on the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Police Service Commission to order an independent review of the investigation and ensure that any officer found to have compromised the integrity of the Force is held accountable.

The TICC spokesperson further demanded the immediate prosecution of the suspects in a court of competent jurisdiction, alleging that Oke was mounting pressure on the police to grant them administrative bail in a bid to prevent the matter from being ventilated in court.

Meanwhile, in the viral video seen by The Guardian, the alleged gang leader, Olamilekan Oriyomi, who identified himself as a member of the Aiye Confraternity and a disc jockey (DJ), claimed that he and his associates were members of the APC who had been hired to provide security for Wole Oke.