The Imole Campaign Council, which coordinates the re-election bid of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, has challenged the Osun State Police Command to release the full video footage of the parade of a suspect arrested over an alleged assassination attempt on the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Campaign Council, Mr Wole Oke.
The demand comes amid growing political tension in Osun State following the police announcement that it foiled a plot to assassinate the APC campaign chief through an intelligence-led operation.
In a statement issued on Saturday and signed by the Chairman of its Media Committee, Bamidele Salam, the council said there were “disturbing inconsistencies” surrounding the narrative being advanced by the Osun State Police Command.
The group specifically called on the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ibrahim Gotan, to make public the complete and unedited video recording of the media briefing during which one Olamilekan Oriyomi was presented before journalists.
According to the campaign council, the request has become necessary in view of intelligence available to it which allegedly raises questions about the official account of events.
“This challenge has become imperative in view of very credible intelligence available to our Campaign Council suggesting that the narrative being forcefully pushed by the Osun State Police Command is riddled with disturbing inconsistencies which deserve urgent public scrutiny,” the statement said.
The council argued that if the police had nothing to conceal, releasing the complete footage would enable journalists, civil society organisations and independent observers to scrutinise the proceedings.
The Imole Campaign Council warned that withholding parts of the video could fuel public suspicion that critical details relating to the case were being concealed.
It also urged the Inspector-General of Police to intervene if the Osun Commissioner of Police declines to release the recording.
The controversy followed the parade of a disc jockey, identified as Olalekan Oriyomi, alongside two other suspects by the Osun State Police Command on Thursday over an alleged plot to assassinate Wole Oke at Ipetu-Ijesa.
The other suspects were identified as Ayotunde Ikupolati, 44, and Femi Fakinleye, 31.
Police authorities also disclosed that an English Beretta pistol loaded with four rounds of live ammunition was recovered during the operation.
Explaining the circumstances surrounding the arrest, Osun Police Command spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, said operatives acted on intelligence before the suspects could execute the alleged assassination plan.
The latest development has added another layer of political controversy in Osun, with stakeholders calling for transparency and an independent review of the circumstances surrounding the alleged assassination attempt.
As of the time of filing this report, the Osun Police Command had not issued any response to the demands raised by the Imole Campaign Council.
