The Osun State Police Command has arrested the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Teslim Igbalaye, alongside five other suspects, after operatives recovered \u20a64.81 million in cash, a voter register, Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and other materials during a raid on a residence in Osogbo as part of an investigation into alleged vote-buying and electoral offences.<\/p>\n
The arrests, confirmed in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, come amid heightened political tension in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election, with security agencies intensifying efforts to curb electoral violence, vote-buying and other election-related crimes.<\/p>\n
According to the police, the operation followed credible intelligence indicating that a suspected criminal network was operating from the Oroki Estate area of Osogbo.<\/p>\n
The command said detectives stormed a residential property allegedly linked to the SSG while searching for a wanted suspect, Abiodun Arowomole, popularly known as “Ashipa,” who is on the police watch list over allegations including murder.<\/p>\n
Although the wanted suspect was not found during the operation, officers reportedly discovered \u20a64,810,500 in cash, a Dynabook laptop, a photocopying machine, a printer, two Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), and a voter register containing the details of voters across Wards 1 to 15.<\/p>\n
Police said all the recovered items have been secured and would undergo forensic examination as part of ongoing investigations.<\/p>\n
The command identified those arrested as Teslim Igbalaye, 57; Akande Taiwo, 60; Oladele Abiodun, 38; Adeyemo Lukman, 45; Olaoye Muftau, 50; and Aderemi Musliu, 40, all of whom were reportedly present at the premises when the operatives conducted the search.<\/p>\n
Investigators said the discovery of the cash and voter register had widened the scope of the investigation, with detectives examining possible violations of the Electoral Act 2022, particularly allegations relating to vote-buying, voter inducement and other electoral offences.<\/p>\n
“The recovery of the cash and the register containing voters’ details raises serious concerns regarding possible electoral offences and other criminal activities,” the police stated.<\/p>\n
The command added that investigators are also examining possible offences bordering on criminal conspiracy and the alleged harbouring of a wanted suspect.<\/p>\n
According to the police, additional charges may be filed depending on the outcome of forensic analysis and other evidence gathered during the investigation.<\/p>\n
Describing the allegations as serious, the command said the investigation could have far-reaching implications for public safety, the administration of justice and the credibility of the electoral process.<\/p>\n
Authorities said efforts are ongoing to establish the ownership of the recovered exhibits, trace the source of the cash, determine its intended use and identify every individual connected with the materials recovered from the premises.<\/p>\n
Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Gotan assured residents that the investigation would be conducted professionally and without political interference.<\/p>\n
“The Nigeria Police Force remains committed to enforcing the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will. No individual, regardless of political affiliation, public office or social status, is above the law. Anyone found culpable at the conclusion of investigations will be prosecuted in accordance with the Constitution and other applicable laws,” the commissioner said.<\/p>\n
The development comes as security agencies have intensified surveillance across Osun State following weeks of political violence, killings and accusations traded among major political parties ahead of the governorship election. The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun’s successor, IGP Tunji Disu, recently directed security commanders in the state to clamp down on political thugs and ensure that perpetrators of election-related violence are arrested and prosecuted, regardless of political affiliation.<\/p>\n
Governor Ademola Adeleke has also repeatedly called for impartial policing, urging security agencies to arrest anyone involved in violence or criminal activities, irrespective of status or political leaning, while insisting that the forthcoming election must be conducted peacefully.<\/p>\n
As of the time of filing this report, there was no official reaction from the Osun State Government or the office of the Secretary to the State Government regarding the arrests and the allegations. The police said investigations are continuing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Osun State Police Command has arrested the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Teslim Igbalaye, alongside five other suspects, after operatives recovered \u20a64.81 million in cash, a voter register, Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and other materials during a raid on a residence in Osogbo as part of an investigation into alleged vote-buying and electoral […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":99842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8],"tags":[3357,4437,234,4885],"class_list":["post-99839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-politics","tag-arrests","tag-osogbo","tag-police","tag-voters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=99839"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99841,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99839\/revisions\/99841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/99842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=99839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}