Osun Guber: “I Will Not Be Intimidated” — Speaker Egbedun Demands IGP Probe After Okuku Attack Scare

The Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adewale Olumide Egbedun, has called on the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, to investigate an alleged threat to his life and the disturbing incident involving the Executive Chairman of Odo Otin Local Government, Hon. Adewale Adeyinka, in Okuku.

Egbedun, in a statement on Thursday, said he was alerted to the incident while returning from the state House of Assembly after a World Press Conference.

According to him, Adeyinka contacted him and reported that he was being pursued by a three-vehicle convoy allegedly linked to an individual identified in the statement as Francis Eniade.

The Speaker said he immediately advised the council chairman to return to the Okuku Divisional Police Station, which he considered the safest location under the circumstances.
He said he subsequently proceeded to Okuku with his convoy and security personnel.

“By the time we arrived, the Chairman had gained entry into the police station,” Egbedun said.

He explained that it was only after entering the station that he learnt that two men had reportedly been apprehended by members of the public and that a firearm had allegedly been recovered from them.

“Concerned that the situation could degenerate into mob action, I immediately instructed my Chief Detail to take the two men away from the crowd and place them in official custody,” he said.

Egbedun said he later directed that the suspects and the firearm reportedly recovered from them be taken to Osogbo and handed over to the Department of State Services (DSS) for investigation.

He stressed that the responsibility for establishing what actually happened rested with the relevant security agencies.

The Speaker called for a “thorough, impartial and professional investigation” into the incident, including the identities of the apprehended individuals, the circumstances surrounding the reported recovery of the firearm and ammunition, the ownership and purpose of the vehicles allegedly involved in the pursuit, and the events leading to the reported confrontation.

Egbedun also appealed to the authorities to investigate what he described as a viral threat video allegedly directed at him and other members of his party.

“This incident once again reinforces the urgent need for the Inspector-General of Police to investigate the viral threat video against me and other members of my party,” he said.

He cautioned against allowing political differences to degenerate into violence or threats, stressing that allegations should be subjected to proper investigation rather than settled through competing narratives.

“Political differences must never become a justification for violence, intimidation, threats or attempts to endanger human lives,” the Speaker said.

Egbedun also rejected what he described as “false narratives and deliberate misinformation” surrounding the Okuku incident, saying he would rather allow the relevant authorities to establish the facts.
He said: “I will not be intimidated by threats, intimidation or acts of violence. I will continue to stand for peace, justice and the democratic rights of our people.”

The Speaker urged political actors and residents of the state to ensure that disagreements were resolved through lawful democratic processes.

“We must collectively ensure that Osun remains a state where political disagreements are resolved through dialogue, lawful democratic participation and the ballot box, not through intimidation, violence or the use of thugs,” he said.

No conclusion on the identities, intentions or culpability of the apprehended individuals was made in the statement, with Egbedun leaving those questions to the relevant security authorities.