By Shina Abubakar
OSOGBO — With 13 days to the Osun State governorship election, the Ademola Adeleke Campaign Council has alleged that there is a plan to arrest 46 leaders of the Accord Party and prevent them from participating in the poll.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Sunday, the Deputy Director-General of the Imole Campaign Council, Kolapo Alimi, claimed the council had obtained what he described as a “hit list” containing the names of Accord members allegedly marked for arrest on what he termed trumped-up charges and transfer to Abuja during the election period.
Alimi called on the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to direct the Osun State Police Command, the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), and special police units from Abuja to desist from what he described as arbitrary arrests and harassment of opposition members.
He said: “The Imole Campaign Council refuses to sit idly by while our democracy is dismantled by desperate politicians using public security forces.
“We call on the Inspector-General of Police to immediately issue a firm directive to the Osun State Police Command, the SCID, and special squads from Abuja to cease the arbitrary arrest and harassment of opposition leaders, including the listed individuals allegedly marked for transfer to Abuja.”
The campaign council also condemned the arrest of one of its members in Ikire, Mr. Taofeek Akinyemi, describing it as politically motivated.
According to the council, Akinyemi was arrested by operatives of the State Criminal Investigation Department after posting a video on social media in which he alleged he was attacked and identified those he claimed were responsible.
The council alleged that Akinyemi had earlier survived a shooting incident at his shop in Ikire and that reports of the incident had been made to the police, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 11.
It argued that his subsequent arrest amounted to turning “a complainant into an accused person.”
Describing the operation as a politically motivated action rather than a legitimate law enforcement exercise, the campaign council called for Akinyemi’s immediate release or, if there were credible allegations against him, that he be charged before a court of competent jurisdiction.
The police have yet to respond publicly to the allegations.
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