Alleged Self-Kidnap: Osun Govt Rejects Allegations Against Akinleye, Other Officials

The Osun State Government has said the police are currently investigating the alleged self-kidnapping of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s media aide, Shakirulahi Babatunde, insisting that no government official is interfering with the probe.

The government also dismissed reports alleging that the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Kazeem Akinleye, and other top officials were attempting to frustrate the investigation or induce the police to suppress the matter.

The government’s position was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Governor’s spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed.

According to Rasheed, the state government immediately reported the matter to the police after Babatunde sent a text message claiming that he had been kidnapped.

He said the incident was reported to the police on the instruction of the Chief of Staff, adding that the matter was subsequently brought to the attention of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Osun State Police Command.

Rasheed said the action demonstrated the government’s willingness to allow law enforcement agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding the reported abduction.

“Our attention has been drawn to a reported case of self-kidnapping by one of the governor’s media aides, Shakirulahi Babatunde. We immediately want the public to know that the police are investigating the matter without any pressure from the state government,” he said.

The government spokesperson specifically denied reports that Akinleye or other senior officials were working to prevent the police from investigating the case.

“It was therefore falsehood from the pit of hell to assert that the Chief of Staff or any state official was trying to prevent the police from conducting investigation into a matter which the state government originally reported to the police service,” Rasheed stated.

He also rejected allegations that state government officials attempted to bribe the police to ensure that the matter was swept under the carpet.

“We categorically deny the fake news that there were attempts by the state officials to bribe the police to sweep the matter under the carpet. Such reports are unfounded and baseless conjectures,” he said.

According to him, neither the state government nor any of its officials had offered money to the police in connection with the investigation.

“Nobody in the government is attempting to bribe the police, and the police have not received any kobo from state officials as libelously asserted in a publication,” Rasheed added.

He said the state government would not pre-empt the outcome of the investigation, noting that the administration was waiting for the police to conclude their findings before taking any further action.

“The police are currently investigating the matter while the state government is also waiting for the outcome of the investigation for further action,” he stated.

Rasheed urged members of the public to disregard what he described as misinformation aimed at tarnishing the image of state officials and the police, stressing that relevant police units were handling the matter.

He added that Governor Adeleke and other senior officials remained committed to transparency and law enforcement, saying no state official would prevent security agencies from carrying out their statutory responsibilities.