By Sunday Oguntuyi, Osogbo
The Imole Campaign Council has accused the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, and the Director-General of the AMBO Campaign Council, Hon. Oluwole Oke, of promoting what it described as a false narrative over the alleged assassination attempt on Oke.
The council also demanded a public apology, the release of the complete investigation records, and an independent review of the case.
The accusations follow the arrest of three suspects by the Osun State Police Command in connection with the alleged assassination attempt on Oke, who is the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship campaign in the state.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Sunday, the spokesperson for the Imole Campaign Council, Pelumi Olajengbesi, said the police account of the incident contradicts the confession reportedly made by one of the suspects in a video that has surfaced online.
According to him, the development reinforces the council’s long-held position that innocent persons, including leaders of the Accord Party, were deliberately targeted for political reasons.
“The Imole Campaign Council is compelled to address the public following the emergence of video evidence that completely exposes the false narrative surrounding the purported assassination attempt on Hon. Wole Oke, the AMBO Campaign DG.
“The video raises fundamental questions about the integrity of the investigation conducted by the Osun State Police Command under the leadership of Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Gotan. It contradicts the public claims made during the parade of the suspects and further strengthens our position that innocent people and leaders of the Accord Party were deliberately targeted for political reasons,” Olajengbesi said.
He questioned why the police allegedly claimed that influential individuals were linked to the purported plot while failing to release the suspects’ full confessional statements.
“The Police Command must explain why it publicly claimed that influential individuals were mentioned in the alleged plot while withholding the actual confessional statements from Nigerians. This selective disclosure has seriously undermined public confidence in the neutrality and professionalism of the police,” he said.
Olajengbesi warned that failure by the police to release all investigation materials would further fuel public suspicion.
“If the Commissioner of Police fails to make these materials public, Nigerians will be left with no choice but to conclude that the Osun State Commissioner of Police has allowed himself to be used in a politically motivated attempt to smear innocent citizens and manipulate public opinion for ulterior motives,” he added.
The council called on the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Police Service Commission to intervene by ordering an independent review of the investigation and ensuring that any officer found to have compromised the integrity of the Force is sanctioned.
Olajengbesi maintained that the Imole Campaign Council remains committed to peaceful, issue-based politics and would continue to oppose any attempt to use state institutions against political opponents.
“With the emergence of the video evidence containing the confessional statement of the purported suspect in police custody, made available by conscientious Nigerians, the truth has begun to emerge, and we will resist every manipulative effort to suppress it,” he said.