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The Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, has alleged that the state’s Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, ordered the arrest of Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaye, after the SSG laughed when the police chief was booed by attendees at an INEC stakeholders’ meeting in Osogbo. Egbedun claimed he witnessed the incident and noticed the commissioner making phone calls immediately afterward, prompting him to warn Igbalaye that his arrest had been ordered.
According to the Speaker, Igbalaye received a phone call minutes later informing him that police officers were waiting at his residence, forcing him to leave the meeting. Egbedun described the alleged action as an abuse of power and questioned how such an incident could justify the attempted arrest of a senior government official.
The Osun State Police Command has rejected that account, insisting the operation was based on intelligence linking the SSG’s residence to suspected electoral offences. Police said officers recovered ₦4.81 million in cash, Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), a voter register, and other items during the raid, adding that investigations are ongoing. The SSG has since been released from police custody.
