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The Amotekun Corps in Osun State has been charged by the All Progressives Congress (APC) with being the political arm of the PDP government.

The party claimed that the security agency is being used by the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke to persecute, repress, and harm opposition party members in the state.

At a news conference to discuss Osun Amotekun’s alleged extrajudicial actions against its members, the APC made these accusations and urged President Bola Tinubu and the security services to intervene quickly to assist the people of Osun State.

Osun APC Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi charged that the Adeleke government was using the agency as a front to give the party’s political thugs orders to terrorize opposition members and their supporters.

He said, “It was gathered that the Governor Adeleke-led administration is using a decoy to arm the party’s political thugs with a directive to unleash terror on the members of the opposition and their supporters.

“Information has it that the leadership of the PDP in the state specifically sent words to the leaderships of the ruling party in all the local government council areas to forward the names of the hardened political thugs in their constituencies with a view to recruiting them for political terrorism against the opposition.

“The chiefs were arrested last Tuesday and granted administrative bail but were later invited and re-arrested on Sunday by the retired Chief Superintendent of Police who at a time acted as the Chief Security Officer to Governor Adeleke, Field Commander of Amotekun Corps, Mr Adekunle Omoyele, who has a history of human rights violation while in service and was gravely indicted and recommended for prosecution and demotion by the Report on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and other matters.

“The number of the anomalies traceable to the Amotekun nefarious activities under Omoyele is legendary ranging from the recruitment of thugs, cultists and dismissed police officers; usurpation of police constitutional roles through unlawful arrest, detention and prosecution of innocent citizens; economic sabotage through interception, arrest and extortion of trailers of rice coming into the state thereby creating economic hardship through price rises of the food stable; illegal dabbling into marital issues; rivaling and ridiculing the police and other security agencies; and illegal arrests and extortion of gold miners thereby causing blockades to state revenue generation.”

According to the Osun APC, it is alarming that Amotekun Corps members are now criminalizing community leaders for political reasons, a move that might seriously exacerbate the region’s security situation.

The party disclosed that in order to safeguard the locals, the Itaapa community’s leaders recently organized a local security squad in conjunction with the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Nigeria Police in the region.

Olabisi added, “In view of the foregoing, we are charging the Omoyele-led pliable and political Amotekun Corps to stop lying on the arrest of the Itaapa chiefs and be bold enough to show the world the list of the people in the gulag of the oppressive and vendetta-driven highly controversial security outfit and the reasons for their arrest.

“We are appealing to the Inspector-General of Police and the National Security Adviser(NSA) to urgently come to the aid of the oppressed inhabitants of Osun State who are being traumatised by the illegal activities of the Osun State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps.”

While urging President Bola Tinubu to step in and address the state’s crisis, former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Adebayo Adeleke claimed that the APC as a political organization had lost faith in Osun Amotekun.

In response, Isaac Omoyele of the Osun Amotekun Corps refuted accusations made against the security organization.

Speaking with journalists in Osogbo, Omoyele said, “There is nothing like witch-hunting. A notorious criminal with pump action and army camouflage was arrested. We know the leaders of the vigilantes and their headquarters and he said he came from Ibadan with arms to unleash terror in the community.”

The Osun Amotekun boss claimed that the detention was being interpreted as excessive political meddling by the Osun APC.

“I don’t know why people are putting undue political interference when we are doing our job. He has confessed to the crime. He said he procured the ammunition from an armoury which we are investigating. It is not political but criminal.

“The suspects in question mentioned some names. I don’t know whether they are chiefs since there was nothing to show that they are chiefs. They are not chiefs but suspects in this case.

“In a case of this nature, you cannot hurriedly release such a suspect. Who knows what is contained in the Ibadan armoury or what it contains. It will be unfair for us not to investigate this matter. Whatever we are doing is under the purview of the law. We have applied for court order and that is the proper thing to do,” he said.

In response to the bribery accusation, Omoyele urged the accusers to provide evidence.

“Any form of bribery allegation should be proved. N5 million is not a chicken change. I don’t think that allegation is sustainable,” he concluded.

According to information obtained by ZINGTIE, the Osun Amotekun Corps detained five members of the Itapa community on suspicion of kidnapping and attempted murder.

Additionally, the Amotekun Corps denied rumors that any community chiefs had been detained by its agents around the state.

In rejecting the report, Osun Amotekun added that the accusations were untrue, unfounded, and intended to compromise the report’s professionalism and integrity.

However, Ayodele Ogunsola, Lekan Adeyeri, Ariyo Dare, Sunday Adeyeri, and Oladele Adeyeri were among the five suspects that the security agency displayed on Tuesday. They were taken into custody at the state’s Itapa, Atakunmosa East local government area.

According to Omoyele, Amotekun got indications that unidentified armed teams wearing camouflage uniforms were moving suspiciously throughout the town with sophisticated weapons, which led to the suspects’ detention.

He disclosed that a number of exhibits, including criminal charms and a pump action rifle, had been found among them.

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