Osun Assembly Speaker Accosts Policemen Extorting Travelers At Checkpoint

-Officers Arrested, Detained

The Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun accosted about five policemen along Iwo/Osogbo road while extorting travelers at a checkpoint.

It was gathered that Egbedun accosted the men of Nigerian Police who were in uniform and armed with their patrol van when he was plying the road on Thursday evening.

In a video obtained on Friday, the Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Egbedun was sighted with his entourage protesting against the police officers on that road for extorting travelers on the road.

Egbedun who highlighted from his car slammed the police men, when the officer discovered the identity of the Speaker, they ran into the bush while he charged after them.

He shouted at the policemen, saying, “What sort of nonsense is that one, please record them, don’t run into the bush, return the money you collected from travelers. You must return the money that you collected through transfer.”

After a while a police officer placed a call to a suspected senior officer at the scene while Egbedun was standing to report the situation. The officer disclosed that the money exhorted from the travelers are of two tranches, N50,000 and N25,000.

When CityMirrorNews contacted the Speaker on Friday, Egbedun on phone, he confirmed that he accosted policemen who were extorting travelers along Iwo Osogbo road.

Egbedun through his spokesperson, Olamide Tiamiyu, explained that “Egbedun was returning from a trip to Ayedire local government when some distressed citizens flagged his vehicle to complain on the illicit activities of the men of the Police force for intervention.

“The victims who were traveling for the Osun Osogbo festival scheduled for tomorrow, narrated their ordeal in the hands of the officers. They added that the policemen who refused all pleas to allow them go on their journey, eventually forced the three among them to make a transfer of twenty-five thousand naira each.

“When approached to hear their sides of the story, the leader of the police team confirmed to the Speaker that they collected the quoted amount from the three commuters and pleaded for forgiveness.”

“The Speaker ceased the opportunity to implored the commuters and passers-by who witnessed the incident that it is our collective responsibility to sanitize the state. He added that if as citizens, we are willing to be responsible, the society will be better for us to live.

“He then called the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Kehinde Longe to report the conduct of his personnel to him, who immediately summoned the officers to the State headquarters for possible disciplinary action.”

Similarly, when the spokesperson of Osun State Police Command, Yemisi Opalola was contacted, she confirmed the situation and disclosed that “The Police officers involved in this unprofessional and unethical behaviour have been identified, arrested and detained.”

According to her, “The police Command frowned and condemned the act in totality as the erring police officers are currently in detention since Thursday, 10/08/2023 and undergoing investigation and eventual disciplinary procedure of orderly room trial for their unprofessional conduct while the senior officer among them has been queried accordingly.

“The Commissioner of Police wishes to apprise the general public, most especially the good people of Osun State that, he will never condone any act of indiscipline and unprofessional conduct exhibited by any member of the Nigeria Police under his watch.”