The Ogun State Police Command has said that its arrest of the Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Oludare Kadiri was not at the behest of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Tokunbo Talabi.
Kadiri had alleged that the SSG instigated his Friday arrest as part of his plot to get him impeached as deputy speaker.
There have been disagreements between two rival factions of the APC in the state over the APC membership registration and revalidation exercise, with one faction accusing the other of hoarding the registration forms.
Kadiri and his “boys” were said to have stormed the SSG’s home for allegedly hoarding the forms at the detriment of other APC leaders in Ijebu North Local Government Area.
However, the spokesman of the command, Abimbola Oyeyemi explained in a statement that Kadiri was arrested over coordinated attacks on the homes of some politicians in Ijebu North.
Oyeyemi said that although the SSG’s father was one of the politicians whose homes were allegedly invaded by thugs led by Kadiri, the SSG had no hand in his arrest as he wanted to make the world believe.
He added that the deputy speaker was being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Eleweran in Abeokuta, pending the conclusion of an investigation into his culpability in the attacks.
The police image-maker noted that that the law is not a respecter of any person.
Oyeyemi said, “On the 20th of February 2021, the command received a complaint from one Mrs. Olabode Adegbesan of No. 6 Ayegbami street Awa Ijebu who reported at Awa Ijebu police station that, while she was at home at about 12noon, some people led by the Deputy Speaker invaded their home, throwing stones into the house and calling out her husband Hon. Kunle Adegbesan to come out to be dealt with.
“In the process, the hoodlums vandalized the window glasses of the house before they left with a threat to come back with more violence. Not quite an hour after the first report, one comrade Akeem Temitope Akilo also came to report that, he was at the house of the SSG’s father when the deputy speaker led some people to the house at about 12:55 pm, vandalized the window glasses and removed the APC flag hoisted therein and took it away.
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“Also, at about 1:30 pm of the same day, one Otunba Adetohun Oduwole reported that the same deputy speaker Kadiri led some thugs to her house and destroyed the front door of the house as well as window glasses before they left.
“While investigation into all the reports was going on, one Hon. Yinusa Adekunle reported that the register being used for the APC registration exercise has been forcefully seized by one Hon. Abagun Yinusa. This prompted the DPO Awa Ijebu to visit the house of the said Hon.Abagun for the purpose of recovering the seized register. On getting there, the deputy speaker arrived the scene with about twenty men in two buses and descended heavily on the complainant, Hon Yinusa Adekunle, beat him mercilessly and almost killed him.”