Apprehension of mass arrest has gripped leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) coalition against the second term ambition of Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala and their allies in opposition parties over their perceived roles in the anti-Akala rally held in Ogbomoso, hometown of Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala about a fortnight ago.
One of the leaders of the coalition, Senator Lekan Balogun, yesterday raised the alarm that the Oyo State Police Command had summoned the Senate Leader, Senator Teslim Folarin, the immediate past governor of the state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja and himself over the bloody clash between factions of the PDP loyal to the group and the governor.
This is coming on the heels of the arrest and detention of Mr Alamu, the secretary of the Ogbomoso Solidarity Forum (OSF) which hosted the rally.
Daily Sun learnt yesterday that the OSF scribe was arrested in Ogbomoso on Monday evening and transferred to the Iyaganku Police Division, Ibadan , where he was detained.
It was gathered that his arrest followed a petition written to the police by the Chairman of the Ogbomoso North Local Government, Mr Tunde Oloyede, an Akala partisan, alleging that the party chieftains damaged the gate of the local council/Town hall where the rally was held.
Balogun, in a statement made available to journalists in the state capital yesterday gave the names of other politicians allegedly invited by the police as the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Mr Ayo Adeseun and a former Special Duties Minister, Mr Wole Oyelese.
The former senator and Adeseun querried the move of the police hierarchy in the state to single this incident out, when it had persistently ignored and failed to act on past security situations brought to his attention. To them the police have lost the moral and justification to do so.
But the state Police Commissioner,Alhaji Baba Adisa Bolanta, denied knowledge of such summons, although he confirmed the arrest of Alamu, who, he said, was merely invited for questioning and had since been released.
Senator Balogun, who was silent on when the PDP factional leaders were scheduled to honour the police invitation, was indignant. He said: “It therefore sounds absurd that the same police could now summon me, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, Mr Wole Oyelese, the Senate Leader, Senator Teslim Folarin and Mr Ayo Adeseun over the Ogbomosho crisis that we are not even remotely connected with”.
The PDP leader berated the state Police Command for allegedly failing to guarantee adequate security in and across the state and urged the Police authorities to immediately redeploy Bolanta, if the state was to witness free, fair and credible general elections in 2011.
“We use this opportunity to call again for the re-deployment of the incumbent police commissioner from the state in order to guarantee free, peaceful and credible elections in 2011. We are of firm belief that his continued stay in that office is inconsistent with peace, order and good governance in the state as well as our collective aspiration for free, peaceful and credible election in 201”, he declared.
Senator Balogun also asked the security agencies to investigate alleged procurement of more Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) by the Oyo State government, which he alleged,may be part of the desperation and motive of Governor Akala to subdue his perceived political opponents especially.
“We suspect that the motive for increasing this military/police equipment is to have enough to intimidate the electorate in 2011 elections and ultimately manipulate the election. This is potentially inimical to our fledgling democracy as well as peace and stability of Nigeria in general.
“We therefore call on the security agencies to give this matter the urgent attention it deserves in order to nip in the bud the disastrous consequences such a self serving and tyrannical act may engender.
The PDP chieftain then urged the people of the state “to come out for a peaceful protest” to be held at the Iyaganku Police Station next Monday, November 29, “against the tyranny of Oyo State government and the alleged collaboration of the police in its failure to impartially discharge its social responsibility in the maintenance of law and order”.
Senator Balogun pointed out that the planned protest was to condemn the alleged “ failure by the state Command to carry out the order of the Nigeria Industrial Court in respect of the litigation brought before it” by the reinstated Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW),Alhaji Lateef Akinsola (Tokyo) and the failure by the Police to sincerely and whole heartedly prosecute the sacked NURTW Chairman in the state, Alhaji Lateef Eleweomo and others in a case of assault on him(Senator Balogun) “in spite of contrary orders from the Inspector-General of Police”.
Chief Adeseun, in a phone interview yesterday said Alamu was arrested and taken to Iyaganku in Ibadan . “He is still there till now. It shows that the administration of Alao-Akala is jittery following the effective rally we held.”
Adeseun, who said he was not afraid of arrest, however, condemned the arrest of the OSF secretary.
He alleged that some hoodlums allegedly sponsored by the state government caused a breach of the public peace in the morning of the fateful day by shooting sporadically from Takie in Ogbomoso and terrorizing the residents all about the major streets of the town with the intention of aborting the scheduled rally.
“Some of the hoodlums were arrested by the police and taken to Ibadan . Till today, nothing has been heard about the matter. What right had the council officials to shut the council gate when the place is a public place? We held our rally in the open packing space of the council. The place belongs to all of us. We met the gate open and we entered. Whoever opened it, we do not know.
Is this how the government would continue to stifle democracy and we will all keep quiet? This is part of the harassment we are talking about. … If they arrest me, I will sue them. ..The arrest of Alamu is a manifestation of the administration’s incompetence and fear of loss of popularity”, Adeseun added.
Reacting to the arrest also, Senator Balogun said: “When my gate was shot at several times few months ago and I told Bolanta the people involved in the assassination attempt, he did not do anything on the matter. Instead, he said the suspects had no case to answer.
Some lawmakers were attacked by hoodlums in the House of Assembly and nothing has been done on it by the police till today. Recently, I was threatened by an NURTW hoodlum in the police Command office and I reported, yet Bolanta did nothing about it. What moral right will he now have to invite me for questioning on the rally we held?
Reacting to the allegations, however, the Police chief said there was never a time the Police Command summoned the political leaders over the Ogbomoso violence.
“It is not true, the state Police Command did not summon Senator Balogun or any other politicians from his camp over the Ogbomoso clash.I am not aware of such a thing,”he added.
Bolanta said his command was ready to investigate circumstances surrounding the Ogbomoso mayhem and fish out those responsible.
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