The Osun State Police Command has commenced efforts to establish the circumstances surrounding the reported abduction of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s media aide, Shakirulahi Babatunde, amid allegations that the incident may have been staged.
Babatunde was reportedly kidnapped in Osogbo, after which reports emerged that he had been traced to a hideout in the state capital.
The conflicting accounts surrounding the incident have prompted calls for an investigation to establish what actually happened.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, told The Guild in a telephone interview on Wednesday that the police were yet to determine which of its formations was handling the case, as reports had identified either the Dugbe Police Division or the Anti-Kidnapping Unit.
“As at this moment, we are yet to ascertain which department. I saw a report stating that it was a division, referred to as the Dugbe Division, while another report pointed to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit,” Ojelabi said.
He said the command had contacted the relevant formations to clarify the circumstances of the reported abduction, adding that the Dugbe Division had denied knowledge of the incident.
“Personally, I have reached out to Dugbe Division, and they said they were not aware of any such incident,” the spokesperson stated.
Ojelabi added that he was making further efforts to contact the Anti-Kidnapping Unit to obtain additional information on the case.
The police investigation followed an allegation by the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that Babatunde staged his own abduction in an attempt to implicate the opposition party and create political tension in the state.
The APC, through its Director of Media and Information, Mogaji Kola Olabisi, called for a comprehensive investigation to establish what transpired and determine whether anyone violated the law.
The Osun State Government also backed the investigation, saying the circumstances surrounding the reported incident should be properly established.