PDP accuses INEC, APC of plot to use fake BVAS

THE Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Saturday, accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of colluding with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to flood the state with fake or compromised Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS). 

The chairman of the party, Dr Akindele Adekunle, who raised the alarm while addressing newsmen in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, also alleged that the state police command in connivance with the APC-led government has embarked on mass arrest of PDP members in the state for some days now. 

The chairman gave the police a 24-hour ultimatum to release all PDP members picked up in various local governments and detained unlawfully to avoid untoward reaction from the people of the state. 

“Osun PDP reminds officers and men of the Nigeria Police as a very important institution of government that their core duty is to protect lives of all citizens irrespective of race, gender or political affiliation. 

“It is, therefore, a compounded aberration for such important institution of government to turn itself to attack dogs at the hands of the APC in Osun State. 

“Reports reaching the state PDP, especially in the last two days, have confirmed that a serving commissioner in the government of Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola has been taking police operatives to private homes of PDP members in some local governments in the state to forcefully arrest them without any just cause. 

“Specifically, police were reported to have invaded private homes of innocent members of our party members in Ijebu jesha and Eti Oni in Oriade and Atakumosa East local government areas respectively, effecting forceful arrest of our members and inflicting on them bodily harms, even without any warrant of arrest to justify such course of action against harmless citizens. 

“More worrisome is the fact that the police chose the dead of the night to invade their homes, embarking on sporadic gunshots and thereby subjecting the victims and their relatives to unnecessary psychological trauma. 

“This is the height of abuse of office by the cabinet member of Oyetola’s government and acute unprofessionalism on the part of the police for making themselves available for unjust harassment of citizens they are being paid to protect. 

“Operatives of the SouthWest Security Network (Amotekun) set up after a massive call by sons and daughters of Yoruba land to ward off external aggression against our noble race, have also become another tool for harassing the people of Osun as against the primary objective for which the security outfit was established. 

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“Today, Amotekun Corps in Osun provide veritable cover for notorious political thugs to kill and maim their own kinsmen. This is against the massive support the Yoruba threw behind the security outfit. 

“It is also a summary mess of patriotic calls for establishment of state police to curb rising wave of crime in Nigeria. The Osun experience with Amotekun has indeed made absolute nonsense of such calls. 

“Although, we in this circumstance wish to cut the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Mr Wale Olokode some slack on the fact that perhaps he didn’t give the horrendous directive for the reckless and unprofessional invasion and arrest of citizens in the dead of the night and taking them to unknown destinations as the whereabouts of those picked up remained unknown, but his silence and obvious failure to stem the tide has put paid to all doubts about Mr Olokode, being a principal accomplice in the criminal activities of his men.” 

However, Osun State po- lice command denied the allegation that it was arresting members of the PDP in the state ahead of the election. The command public relations officer, Mrs Yemisi Opalola, in a statement explained that the complainant reported at Osu Division that he went to INEC, office located at Atakumosa West Local Government Area, Osu, Osun State to collect his permanent voter’s card but could not find it.” 

“He consequently demanded for the register and discovered that, one Orji Desmond Nkenna, a corps member attached to INEC office as an ad hoc staff in charge of voter’s card distribution has collected his PVC on the orders of one Wale Ojo and Ijamakinwa Olaoluwa now at large, both members of People Democratic Party (PDP) for financial transaction.” “On receipt of the complaint, police detectives immediately swung into action and arrested the principal suspect along with the INEC supervisor to the alleged corps members Mrs Makanjuola Bilahu and one Mr. Oluwatobi Ogini to investigate the level of their involvement.

“The police are on the trail of the fleeing suspects. The suspects will be charged to court after the completion of investigation.”