This Is Why He Was Arrested’ — Osun Speaker Breaks Silence On SSG Saga

Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, has disputed the official account surrounding the arrest of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Teslim Igbalaye, alleging that the action was driven by personal retaliation rather than the reasons cited by the police.

In a statement personally signed on Thursday, Egbedun accused the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, of ordering the SSG’s arrest shortly after an incident at an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) stakeholders’ meeting.

According to the Speaker, he attended the meeting alongside the Deputy Governor and Igbalaye, where the police commissioner was allegedly booed by some participants while addressing the gathering.

Egbedun claimed that after the incident, Gotan returned to his seat, looked in the direction of the state officials and noticed the SSG laughing.

He alleged that the commissioner subsequently made a series of telephone calls, prompting him to suspect that instructions had been issued for Igbalaye’s arrest.

The Speaker said he immediately informed the SSG of his suspicion, which he claimed was confirmed minutes later when Igbalaye received a call notifying him that police officers were waiting at his residence.

According to Egbedun, the SSG then left the stakeholders’ meeting to respond to the development, leaving the Deputy Governor and the Speaker behind.

He further disclosed that Igbalaye later informed him he had been invited to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) following allegations that police recovered ₦4 million and two voter cards from his residence during a meeting involving members of his political party.

Egbedun questioned the justification for inviting or attempting to arrest a senior government official based on the reported allegations, describing the development as an abuse of power.

The Speaker maintained that the sequence of events contradicted the explanation previously provided by the Osun State Police Command regarding the operation.

He called on Nigerians to pay close attention to the incident, insisting that the circumstances surrounding the SSG’s invitation and attempted arrest raised serious concerns about the exercise of police powers.