a faction of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun state, popularly known as The Osun Progressives (TOP), has demanded the immediate dismissal of the state Police Commissioner, Wale Olokode, for “relentless attacks” on the group’s leaders and members.
The Osun progressives, supporters of the former governor and Minister of the Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, accused the police chief of partiality in the exercise of his functions.
The group said this while on their way to a press conference at Oranmiyan House, Osogbo, on Friday.
On Thursday, suspected gunmen invaded Aregbesola’s campaign office, shooting sporadically into the air.
On Friday, the police and Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) he sent his officers to the campaign office to restore calm.
Speaking at the press conference, a TOP leader, Rasaq Salinsile, said a series of attacks against group members reported to the Police Commissioner were ignored.
Salinsile added that even when the attackers are known people, the police refused to arrest them.
“It is our firm belief that the refusal to act on our requests about the impending attacks by the police and other security agencies emboldened Governor Oyetola’s criminal associates to become vicious in their attacks against us.
“We had intelligence reports on the plan of the IleriOluwa faction, led by Gboyega Oyetola, to assassinate and imprison us, and we had quickly passed the information to the Police Commissioner in particular and to all other security agencies. But nothing has been done about it so far.
“Every time we are attacked, the worst thing is that we are punished by the Police Commissioner, the police command led by Wale Olokode.
“Therefore, we call on CP Olokode to ask the Inspector General of Police to send him out of Osun. We ask the Inspector General of Police to immediately transfer CP Olokode from Osun. CP Olokode, to the best of human understanding, is unable to carry out his work impartially as required by the constitution.
“This is clear from the litany of events that we have listed above. We note that the environment in which Oranmiyan House is located is a commercial district, as there are banks and other major companies there.”
‘We’re not upset’
Contacted, the public relations officer for the police in Osun, Yemisi Opalola, said that those calling for the removal of the police commissioner do not appreciate the work he is doing.
“If he (the police commissioner) is removed from Osun’s command, won’t he be taken somewhere else? If he is removed from here, will he be removed from the Nigerian Police?
“What else do you want me to do? Should he cut off his head for them? What else do you want me to do? Immediately the incident happened yesterday, he went there alone, what more do they want now?
“Is it until I cut their heads off that they’ll know he’s answering?”
‘Defamation’
Funke Egbemode, the information commissioner in the state, described the accusations against the governor as “character assassination.”
“They are just trying to assassinate the character of the Governor, everyone knows Governor Oyetola, he has never been involved in any violent politics,” the commissioner said.
“The Governor knows what he is doing and where he is going.
“It is so sad that our politics has degenerated into this, we should be the Omoluabi we are known for.
“It is bad, regrettable and reprehensible that someone is accusing Governor Oyetola of marking someone for murder or mutilation. If he wasn’t so serious, he would have been hilarious.
“It is not necessary for them to start showing signs of suffering from a persecution complex, no, we do not need that. Political or electoral time will come and go, but we will still be here as humans, this is our state.”