SEPTEMBER 22 OSUN GOV POLL:
Police, DSS warn politicians against gunrunning, violence
The Osun State Police Command and the Department of State Service have warned politicians in the state against gunrunning and thuggery ahead of the primary and the governorship election holding in the state on September 22.
The Commissioner of Police and the Director, DSS in the state, Mr. Fimihan Adeoye and Mr. Brown Ekwoaba respectively gave this warning at a meeting held with leaders of various political parties in the state in Osogbo on Friday.
The CP said Osun State was one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria while appealing to politicians to shun anything that could scuttle the peace the people of the state were enjoying.
He advised politicians with thugs to disband them, stressing that the police would deal with anyone caught fomenting trouble irrespective of their political affiliations and the status of their sponsors in the society.
Adeoye said the law did not recognise political parties as parties to such cases but said each individual would be taken to court to answer questions based on their conduct which violated the law.
The commissioner of police said politicians and other stakeholders should work to ensure that
He said, “We will not permit thuggery in this state. If anybody assigned himself as a thug that person must have a rethink because we won’t allow them to operate here in Osun.
“If anybody does anything contrary to the law such person will be dealt with irrespective of political affiliation. Thuggery will not be tolerated at all.”
“And if anybody is caught with firearm such person will be treated as an armed robbery suspect. And if the person mentions the name of anybody, we will investigate and if found culpable, they will be treated like an accessory and we will make noise about it.
“Nigeria must not continue to remain at this stage. We must all work to make it better. Parents should monitor their children, holding closely to make sure that they were not recruited to cause trouble here because anyone caught will be dealt with.”
The Director of DSS, Ekwoaba, also warned politicians against the use of abusive language during campaign and urged them to make the state a reference point for holding peaceful elections.
He said whatever happened in Ekiti and Osun State would be an indication of what the nation should expect during the 2019 general election,saying politicians in the state should ensure that the peace in the state was not destroyed.
He said, “Osun State has been a peaceful state from history and once we make this election peaceful, it will be a credit to all of us. The whole world is looking at Ekiti and Osun States.”
The Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state, Alhaji Abdulrasak Salinsile, urged the police to always carry out thorough investigation before making arrest of anybody mentioned by suspects.
He said there were occasions when some suspects would just mention some names in order to implicate them and tarnish their reputations.
The Chairman of the United Democratic Party in the state, Adesoji Masimo Adeleke, urged the security agencies to ensure that leading political parties like the Peoples Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party which were not represented at the meeting were in attendance in subsequent meetings.
– Copyright PUNCH