With the Inspector General of Police’s fact finding trip to Osun now behind him, Governor Ademola Adeleke has a clear message for the police: impartiality is not optional heading into the state’s governorship election.
In a statement from spokesperson Olawale Rasheed, Adeleke said the visit, which followed a similar trip by the Deputy Inspector General a week earlier, should have been an eye opener for the police chief after hearing directly from political groups and community stakeholders on both sides, with the relevant facts now sitting squarely in the public domain. His own interest, he said, is simply protecting the safety of Osun residents and their property before the vote. He called on the IGP to hold the state police command accountable and insisted the state Commissioner of Police must steer clear of partisanship in both investigating and prosecuting political violence cases, calling that the only route back to public trust in the force. Adeleke said he harbours no thugs in government house or anywhere else, wants any law breaker arrested regardless of political affiliation, and opposes any politicisation of criminal investigations, arguing that Osun residents deserve a secure environment to vote in, free from the killings and attacks that undermine genuine political participation, and voiced hope that security agencies will secure the state through the August 15 election and beyond.
