Police Must Prove Adeleke’s Aide, Alowonle, Hasn’t Escaped- CSO

… Threatens Protest If Suspect Escapes Investigations

A Civil Society Organisation, World Institute for Peace ( WIP), has threatened to embark on peaceful protest in Osogbo, Osun State Capital, if the Osun State Government and the State Police Command fail to brief the public about the whereabouts of the arrested Osun State Park Management and Transport System (OSPMTS) Chairman, Nurudeen Iyanda popularly known as Alowonle.

The group alleged that it appeared that the police authority and Osun state government have succeeded in manipulating the investigation of gun running allegation against Nurudeen as the suspect has allegedly absconded from Osun State University Teaching Hospital where he was receiving treatment for the past two weeks.

In a statement by the Executive Director (WIP), Comrade Lamina Omotoyosi and made available to journalists in Osogbo, it was alleged that Nurudeen had been discharged from the hospital since last Thursday and he might be currently at-large to escape investigation.

According to the statement, “we are constrained to raise this public alarm and express our readiness to embark on public protest if our insinuation is validated except the police authority and the state government explain otherwise, the whereabouts of a gun running suspect Nurudeen Alowonle who was arrested on 18th of November, 2024 with a police pistol and ammunition and allegedly shot in the abdomen by the police.”

“We have been monitoring the trend very closely and have it on good authority that Alowonle has been discharged from the UNISOUN teaching Hospital since last week Thursday and as at the time of issuing this statement, there is no information that he is in police custody or government house clinic. We have no reason not to believe that the Chairman Osun State Park Management and Transport System (OSPMTS) is currently at large because our intelligence confirmed that he is not in police custody.

“ We commend the Inspector General Police, Dr Kayode Egbetokun and the Osun State Commissioner of Police, CP Muhammad Umar Abba for initiating investigation on the circumstances sorrounding his arrest and alleged shooting in the abdomen. We are fully aware about a team of detectives from the Police Force Headquarter, Abuja, who visited Osun for the investigation but it is sad that police appeared to have chickened out owing to the state government blackmails which might have aided Alowonle’s escape.

“ Our oganisation noted how the state government succeeded in blackmailing the police to vacate the UNIOSUN teaching hospital where Alowonle was treated and how the state security outfits Amotekun took over the security of the hospital perhaps with the motive to get him escaped and evade investigation. The standard practice in such circumstances is for the police to stay with the suspect or transfer the suspect to the police hospital for treatment after which he would face investigation. But obviously in this case, it appears the suspect was handed to the state government despite their bias and open support for the suspect.”

He explained further, “Our organization questions the state government because of the despicable manoeuvering of its handlers to reduce the criminal case to civil matter through media propaganda from the State Commissioner for Information and Civic Engagement, Barrister Kolapo Alimi, and the Governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed who in their official statements deliberately ignored the criminal aspect of the case and desperately demanded the transferred of the police officer involved and scapegoating the police authority just because the person involved is an appointee of Governor Ademola Adeleke.

“We are also feel strongly that police might also be culpable because of the sterling revelations that the recovered gun is a service pistol which is likely to belong to security personnel including the ammunitions recovered from the suspect as contained in the trending video. The question we are asking is why the police should leave Alowonle to the whims and caprices of the state medical personnel and state security apparatus considering the severity of the offence and the previous bias of the state?

“We thank God that he is alive and he has recovered, therefore, we demand explanation about his whereabouts because we believe he has a case to answer for being in passion of service arms. We assure that we are not going to allow this case to be swept under the carpet.

“The danger we noticed was that the hoodlums in the state are now emboldened, regrouping and developing wings just because police has not shown the necessary direction over this severe case. The entire world are watching and were are also monitoring closely how and why the police will not trace the source of the arm and ammunitions in the trending video.

“We demand explanation from the police authority as to the whereabouts of Nurudeen Alowonle within three days upon which failure we would be tempted to mobilise the people of the state for a peaceful protest against this brazen impunity and apparent state protection of criminals.”