Ogun government, PDP trade words over arrest and detention of 18 party members
- The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is accusing the Ogun state government of sending FSARS officials after its supporters
- The party alleges that 18 of the supporters, some underaged, were arrested and detained with a lawmaker from the state
- The state government denies having a hand in the arrest and detention of the party supporters as claimed by the PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun state has accused the government of allegedly instigating the arrest and detention of its 18 members and students of the Gateway ICT Polytechnic at Saapade.
The Nation reports that the PDP claimed that its members were rounded up and whisked away in Isara-Remo by men of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) while breaking the Ramadan fast with a member of the House of Assembly, Adebiyi Adeleye, at his constituency office on Odemo road in the town.
The report, however quoted the state government as saying it had no hand in the plight of the suspects.
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The chairman of the PDP in the state, Sikirulahi Ogundele, had said the 18 suspects were arrested in the evening of Monday, June 4, alongside the lawmaker representing Remo North.
According to Ogundele, the state government masterminded the arrest and this was because the suspects dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the PDP in Remo local government Aarea.
He described the action as undemocratic and an arbitrary use of power in desperation to clamp down on members of the opposition ahead of the general elections in 2019.
He said two of the suspects were just between 17 and 18 years and that they were kept them in custody for over 72 hours without establishing any case against them or charging them to court.
Ogundele alleged that some members of his party got to the FSARS in Abeokuta to secure the release of the suspects, only to be told that they were initially accused of thuggery and later robbery, murder and conspiracy.
He said the FSARS grudgingly released the lawmaker on bail on Wednesday, June 6, but his efforts to secure the release of 18 others failed.
He said the body language of the FSARS operatives showed that the state government was needed to release the detainees.
He pleaded with the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, to wade into the matter and warn the state police command to desist from being used as instrument of oppression.
“This is an embarrassment to the way political leaders had always conducted their affairs in the state. It is a dent on the image of the state to have detained a sitting lawmaker for about 48 hours.
“And for over 72 hours now, 18 persons who are members of the PDP and some students of the Gateway Polytechnic at Sapade are still in detention at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad cells at Magbon in Abeokuta.
“They were arrested on June 4; and up till now (yesterday), they have not been released.
“I have met Police Commissioner Ahmed Iliyasu over the matter. He directed me to meet the officer-in-charge of SARS at Magbon. When I met him, he said they (victims) would be released on June 6. That never happened. But it was later I started hearing that they were acting on orders from above,” he said.
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In his reaction, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Taiwo Adeoluwa, said: “As a government, we have no issue with anybody.
“We are not even aware anybody is detained anywhere. Whether anybody decamped yesterday or today, I’m not aware.”
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Source: Legit.ng
