The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State has raised the alarm over plans by hooded security teams from Abuja to arrest top officials of the state government, adding that Jamiu Olawumi, an aide of the former govwrnor, Gbenga Oyetola, has confirmed the threat.
The party, which raised the alarm in a statement on Saturday by its Chairman, Hon Sunday Bisi, said its security department had earlier gathered hints that more than 25 state officials have been listed for unofficial arrest and abduction by special security teams from Abuja.
He noted:
“We gathered on good authority as early as last week that the team is billed to enter Osun in the new week. The listed officials are to be picked up without warrant of arrest and without any trace of their whereabouts.
“Our sources disclosed that the Governor’s Spokesperson, four special advisers, five party leaders and 15 other state officials were to be abducted by the Abuja team in what would amount to gross violation of the constitution and an open threat to the peace of Osun state.
“We are still analyzing the threat when a top member of the opposition confirmed the threats first by the news story which confirmed that Oyetola family and camp have been cooking several petitions against Osun officials at the DSS and second by an open phone call.”
Hon. Bisi said the opposition plan was exposed on Thursday night as some members of the opposition APC in Osun bragged that they are going to use federal might to victimize Osun government officials and some leaders of the ruling PDP
The party Chairman noted that the former Special Adviser to former Governor Gboyega Oyetola on Education, Mr Jamiu Olawumi, actually phoned some aides of Governor Ademola Adeleke threatening imminent arrest of Osun state officials.
“Olawuni in the phone call said he will make sure that he got the Governor’s aides arrested just because of an altercation they had on a WhatsApp platform where the official was asking him (Olawumi) to give an account of how they managed the ministry of education when they were holding sway.
“Instead for Mr Olawumi to respond to the question, he placed a call to the official bragging that he will make sure he gets him arrested and that those who will effect the arrest will come from Abuja.
“Several other APC operatives have issued similar threats in recent days which confirms the internal reports we already have about an alleged hit team already assembled in Abuja to raid Osun state and arrest state officials.
“While we know for certain that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not approve of such an evil plan, we are constrained to alert the public about the imminent threat to peace and stability of Osun state through nefarious activities of Mr Gboyega Oyetola and his faction of Osun state APC.
“We call on the Presidency to halt such efforts at destabilizing Osun state through a reprehensible abuse of power and partisan deployment of federal security apparatus against a state whose only sin was to have voted Mr Oyetola out of office.
“We alert the Inspector General of Police and the Director General, Department of State Service of this developing threat to peace and stability of Osun state and urge the duo to caution members of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State over open threats and harassment of state officials,” the statement added.
The party, through its Chairman, Hon. Sunday Bisi also called on the Police service and the DSS to avoid political partisanship and eschew becoming an instrument of political vendetta and vengeance in the hands of those seeking pounds of flesh because they lost a free and fair governorship election.
“I want to call on President Bola Tinubu to caution members of his party in Osun because we will not allow our members to be harassed or victimized in the state. We seek Mr President immediate intervention.
“We are making this appeal on the premise that any hooded security operation against Osun state and party officials will amount to direct violation of the constitution and the fundamental human rights of those officials. We will not succumb to such threats and intimidation.
“Our members and government will deploy all legal and constitutional measures to stop the planned violation of their rights. We will legally resist any plot to destabilize Osun state now under the well loved and performing Governor Ademola Adeleke.”
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