Two non-governmental organisations, National Youths Inclusive Initiatives (NYII) and the Societal Safety Network (SSN), have appealed to the Inspector General of Police, Dr Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, not to succumb to the pressures of the Osun Government to release the arrested Chairman of the State Park Management Committee, Nurudeen Iyanda Wakili, popularly known as Alowonle, over possession of a police service gun and ammunition.
The groups, at a joint press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, were represented by their leadership: Comrade Fasasi Sodiq, President of National Youth Inclusive Initiatives (NYII), and Comrade Suleiman Salahudeen, of Societal Safety Network (SSN). They spoke on various issues related to security and safety in the state.
The groups also berated the Osun State Government, under the leadership of Governor Ademola Adeleke, for shielding known criminals who were on the watchlist and wanted list of the Nigerian Police in the state.
The groups warned the state government to stop rationalising criminality and desist from its penchant for raising “devilish minds” in the name of politics, emphasising that the case of Alowonle must not be swept under the carpet.
The groups extolled the officers and men of the Osun State Police Command for their proactiveness, high sense of professionalism, diligence, and patriotism in the discharge of their constitutional responsibilities of maintaining law and order.
Recall that on Monday night, Alowonle and his cohorts in the Road Transport Union were arrested by the police over allegations of murder, attempted murder, unlawful possession of firearms, and malicious damage.
According to the Acting State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Giwa-Alade, “A petition accusing Nurudeen Wakili, a.k.a. Alowonle, of these crimes was submitted to the Commissioner of Police and referred to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit for investigation,” hence the rounding up of the suspect and his cohorts after they had opened fire on the police at Ring Road, Osogbo, at a point when the suspects were about to attack the complainant.
The police’s account revealed that nine (9) suspects, including Alowonle, were arrested at the scene. However, as they were being transported, some hoodlums sympathetic to Alowonle ambushed the police, forcibly rescuing him and four (4) others, all of whom escaped while still in handcuffs. The police later trailed and rearrested Alowonle at his hideout.
Following the police revelation, the groups warned the state government against interfering in the matter, pointing out that the Governor Adeleke-led government has been giving political colouration to the criminal matter in an attempt to rescue and shield the suspect from punishment or trial.
The groups, who alleged that the Osun State Government was promoting criminality and shielding known criminals who are supporters of the incumbent governor and his party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), said, “It is disheartening that Alowonle’s case has been given undue political colouration and is about to be swept under the carpet, as the police authority in the state and headquarters in Abuja have been pressured, heckled, and emotionally browbeaten to succumb to the evil and disturbing narratives being peddled by the Osun State Government.”
“The attitude of the Osun State Government towards crime is concerning. Just as they are trivialising the current arrest of Alowonle and making puerile justifications to ease his freedom, they have also used state government official platforms to fraternise with other alleged criminals and made frantic efforts to discredit the good work of the Nigerian Police.”
“The press statement from the state government regarding the arrest of Alowonle, signed by the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kolapo Alimi, is unpatriotic and should be condemned in its entirety by good-spirited Nigerians.
“In the past, no reasonable and responsible parent would want to identify with a child who is alleged to be a criminal. But not in Osun under this current administration: someone was found with a British Beretta pistol, which is only found in the possession of police officers. To possess it without being one either means the person may have killed the real owner or unlawfully seized it from the rightful owner under questionable circumstances. Rather than explaining how their appointee came into possession of a police pistol, the government is busy rationalising criminality.
“We are also perturbed that some officials of the state government are now boasting around town that nothing will come of the arrest of Alowonle and other criminal suspects mentioned above because the Inspector General of Police has been ‘purchased’ and is now doing their bidding. They boast that they will make the state ungovernable until the hard-working anti-kidnapping unit is disbanded, a scheme created to turn criminality into a free-for-all in the state.
“Gentlemen of the press, as we speak here, a faction of the road transport union sympathetic to the state government has been mobilised to down tools, disrupt commercial activities, and block vehicular movement in a push for the disbandment of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit in the state. There is no doubt that state actors are behind this development.
“This is an unfortunate situation and a potential breach of security if allowed to fester. The police authority will have a lot on their hands if law-abiding citizens of the state, who are beneficiaries of security, law, and order installed by the police, are provoked into engaging in reprisals or counterrally rallies,” the group noted.
The groups, therefore, implored the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, to use his office to rid the state of crime and personally address the emerging brigandage in Osun State before it becomes a bigger problem that will impact security, law, and order.
Specifically, the groups appealed to the police authority to clear the name of the force from the grievous allegations by the suspect that policemen supplied him with the guns and ammunition found in his possession.
READ MORE FROM: NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then