Osun Government Accuses Police of Raiding SSG, Commissioners’ Homes

The Osun State Government has accused the state police command of raiding the residences of the Secretary to the State Government and several commissioners without presenting proper search warrants.

Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, alleged that a police team led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations entered the SSG’s residence on Wednesday and took some people found in the compound to undisclosed locations.

According to the statement, the SSG was attending an election stakeholders’ forum when the operation occurred, while some political ward officials were holding a meeting within the compound.

The government also alleged that police officers had earlier searched the Ikire residence of the Commissioner for Energy, damaged property and placed the homes of five other commissioners under surveillance.

It further claimed that several Accord Party members were being held at the Criminal Investigation Department without being granted bail. The government described the operations as politically motivated and accused the police command of acting in support of the All Progressives Congress.

“The raids on the SSG and our commissioners are an aggravated assault on the government and people of Osun State,” the statement said.

The government called on Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu, the National Security Adviser and President Bola Tinubu to intervene before the situation resulted in further unrest.

The allegation comes amid growing political tension ahead of the August 15 governorship election. Police recently opened an investigation after armed attackers disrupted the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards in Odo-Otin Local Government Area and took away three packs of cards.

The Osun police command had not issued a publicly available response specifically addressing the latest allegations at the time of filing this report.