Group accuses Police, of colluding with APC to implicate PDP lawmaker, Omirin

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo

The Ijesa South Patriots on Saturday accused the Osun State police command and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State of plotting to implicate a member of the House of Representatives, Sanya Omirin, who is under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in a cult-related crime.

This reaction came following the recent arrest and parade of some persons by the Osun State police command, who confessed to allegedly working for Omirin and other PDP bigwigs in the State.

In a statement issued by Hon. Oladapo Tunde over the weekend, the Ijesa South Patriots said the police statement on the confraternity war in the State was identical to a script circulated by APC on social media.

The statement read: “We are shocked that the police would stoop so low as to act out a script written by the APC. This is a clear case of political persecution, and we demand an immediate investigation.

“Is Hon. Sanya Omirin a member of one of the cult groups involved in the confraternity war? No! Why do APC members in the State have possession of the speech to be read by the police two days before the event?

“When did APC members become part of the police structure in the State? What is the police’s interest in implicating Hon. Omirin, a respected member of the House of Representatives?

“Omirin can’t be a sponsor of these hoodlums and they would be attacking him. What does the Osun APC want from Omirin? This is a clear case of political vendetta, and we won’t stand for it,” it stated.

The group, while questioning the police’s interest in the matter, called on the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to stop the Osun State Police Command from acting out APC’s script targeted at Omirin.

“We charge the APC to accept defeat in the 2022 and 2023 elections and move on because no amount of blackmail will stop the towering political status of Hon. Sanya Omirin.

“We demand a thorough investigation into this matter, and appropriate action must be taken against those found culpable,” the group stated.

One of the suspects, Olabode Owoeye, also known as “Bode Itaapa,” while being paraded by the police, alleged during interrogation that his group were political thugs working for Omirin, who typically gave them instructions through another wanted cultist named Adefioye Solomon.

Owoeye was arrested alongside Mukaila Lateef, 45, and David Samuel, 26.

According to the police, “On 9th February, 2024, at about 1820 hrs, the complainants reported at Iperindo Police station that, on 08/02/2024, their children Kelechi Agha and Tega Robinson left home for their mining sites and did not return before the case was transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad for discreet investigation.

“Credible intelligence revealed that members of the Aye confraternity were sighted freely moving around with dangerous weapons on that day, which led the detectives to search the hideouts of the cultists, where one locally made Beretta pistol and a black mask were found and registered as exhibits.

“Subsequently, the detectives on a rescue mission later apprehended one Bode Owoeye, a.k.a. ‘Bode Itaapa,’ who was identified as a member of the Aye confraternity and was on the wanted list of the Osun State Police Command.

“During the interrogation, he confessed that other members of his Aye confraternity were responsible for the abduction and killing of the victims inside the bush. He also admitted that his group were political thugs working for one Honourable Sanya Omirin, who usually gave them instructions through another wanted cultist, Adefioye Solomon, a.k.a. Solo Iwara, who is equally responsible for many killings within the Ilesha axis.

“Also, he confessed that they attacked one Honourable Ayodeji Olaolu during the election into the House of Representatives in 2023, at the party secretariat, and shot him in the head and chest. He further revealed that the confraternity had over 30 pump-action rifles, which were mostly procured before the 2023 election.

“Subsequently, the detectives arrested one Samuel David, who was mentioned as a member of the Aye confraternity involved in the killing of one Ibrahim Taiwo, a.k.a. Omo-Alhaja. During the investigations, the suspect mentioned his five fellow hitmen under Kehinde Itaapa, who stormed the venue of the APC rally on 21/02/2023 and killed the deceased. In the course of the investigation, one of the complainants reported that she was the mother of late Taiwo Adebiyi, a.k.a. ‘Omo-Alhaja,’ and alleged one Shittu Lekan, a.k.a. ‘Araba,’ to be the killer of her son.

“Samuel David later took the detectives to Oke-Eta village, where he kept one pump-action gun given to him by Bode Owoeye to perpetrate the crime, and it was recovered as an exhibit. Olabode Owoeye stated further that he bought the gun from Mukaila Lateef, who is his arms dealer and illegally sold some guns to him. Meanwhile, efforts are still ongoing to arrest the fleeing members of the group. The suspects will be charged to court on the completion of the investigation,” the police said.