Human rights defender and prominent Nigerian advocate Femi Falana has demanded the immediate release of suspended Ogun State Ijebu East local government Wale Adedayo from the custody of the State Security Services (SSS).
Secret police detained Adedayo in Abeokuta on Friday, just days after he accused Governor Dapo Abiodun of diverting funds from local state governments.
Adedayo made the accusation against the governor in a letter he wrote to the former state governor, Segun Osoba, and repeated it in petitions to two federal anti-corruption agencies.
His local government’s legislative council has since suspended him from office for alleged financial mismanagement before honoring the SSS’s invitation on Friday.
Reacting to this development, Falana, in a statement on Sunday, advised Governor Abiodun to go to court if he felt the suspended council head had defamed him.
He cited examples of Abiodun’s predecessors who had filed defamation lawsuits against some media outlets.
Falana said in the statement: “Last week, Ijebu East, Ogun State local government chairman Wale Adedayo accused the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, of diverting legal allocations from the state’s 20 local governments.
“Shortly after, the head of the Council was invited by the Ogun State Command of the State Security Service (SSS). However, when he responded to the invitation on September 1, 2023, he was asked to respond to the request submitted to the Command by the State Government.
“In that petition, it was alleged that Mr. Adedayo had instigated widespread acts of public disturbance and chaos in the local government of Ijebu East. Although the embattled head of the Council denied the charges of instigating acts of disorderly conduct, the State Security Service decided to detain him over his refusal to drop the charges against Governor Abiodun.
“Although the Ogun State government has denied the allegation of diversion of funds, Governor Abiodun is advised to sue Mr. Wale Adedayo for defamation in the Ogun State High Court. In similar circumstances, two of his predecessors, the late Governor Olabisi Onabanjo, had sued the National Concord newspaper for defamation in the Ogun State High Court in 1981, while Governor Segun Osoba sued the Punch newspaper for defamation of character in the Ogun State High Court. in 2001. Both governors won the defamation lawsuits.
“Given the facts and circumstances of this particular case, I am compelled to request the SSS Ogun State Command to release Mr. Adedayo from their custody immediately.”