By Ismail Azeez, Osogbo
The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) has challenged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State to come forward with the names of its leaders who have purportedly been arrested or harassed by the Nigerian Police.
This was contained in a statement signed by its acting Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, reacting to the PDP allegations through the party’s Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, on Monday.
PDP had in a statement issued by the caretaker chairman, Dr Akindele Adekunle, threatened to embark on protest over the arrest of its leaders by the police ahead of the Saturday’s State House of Assembly elections.
While reacting, the APC Chairman said, “A discerning mind would not hesitate to inquire from the state PDP caretaker chairman if some of the notorious political hoodlums who are having several murder cases hanging on their necks are the leaders of the ruling party that the PDP chairman is referring to as their leaders?
“Or is the CSP Adekunle Omoyele, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the sacked Osun State Governor Adeleke who is being quizzed in Abuja over his involvement in the extra-judicial killings of some members of the APC before, during and after the last elections in the state, one of the PDP leaders that Adekunle is referring to? When did Omoyele join the PDP?
“Any rational human being would find it difficult to believe if, at all, blood is flowing in the veins of the controversial expired state caretaker PDP Chairman, the embattled Governor Adeleke and their co-travellers for not empathising over the killings of the innocent members of the Osun APC in order to rig the last elections for their candidates.
“It is absurd that the Osun State PDP and Adeleke are spoiling for war with the Inspector-General of Police for having the candour to go after those who are fugitive to justice in the state.
“One wonders if it is within the purview of a state caretaker committee chairman to teach the police on how to do their job?
“The questionable pyrrhic victory of the so-called all the candidates of the PDP in the last presidential and national assembly elections in Osun State is really intoxicating the state caretaker chairman to the extent that it’s taking a strange and dangerous dimension.
“It is only those who are having any skeleton in their cupboards that would piss and shit in their pants at the mere sighting of the law enforcement officers.
“It is now that it has become glaring why things are working upside down for the PDP and Adeleke if some of the leaders of the PDP that the chairman was referring to are the daredevil and notorious thugs.”
Lawal also called on the Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Baba, to disregard allegations of the Osun PDP handlers.
He said, “The Inspector-General of Police should disregard the allegations of the Osun State PDP handlers as they are only judging other people and establishments by their own standard.
“It is the constitutional role of the police to apprehend any suspect with a view to interrogating and prosecuting such suspect and ensure that justice is achieved.”