The Osun State Government has confirmed that the police are probing an alleged self-kidnapping case involving Shakirulahi Babatunde, a media aide to Governor Ademola Adeleke.
The government said the investigation was initiated after Babatunde sent a message claiming he had been kidnapped, adding that the matter was reported to the police on the instruction of the governor’s Chief of Staff, Kazeem Akinleye.
“Our attention has been drawn to a reported case of self-kidnapping by one of the governor’s media aides, Shakirulahi Babatunde. We immediately want the public to know that the police are investigating the matter without any pressure from the state government,” the government said.
The case was later handed over to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Osun State Police Command, which began investigating the circumstances surrounding the reported abduction.
“It would be recalled that when the media aide sent a text message that he had been kidnapped, an incident report was immediately lodged with the police under the instruction of the Chief of Staff,” the statement said.
“The matter was further reported to the Anti Kidnapping Squad of Osun State Police Command which swung into action as a signal of transparency and readiness for law enforcement.”
The government’s clarification came amid claims that Akinleye and other senior officials were trying to stop the police from investigating the incident.
It rejected the allegation, arguing that the state government itself had initiated the police report and therefore had no reason to interfere with the probe.
“It was therefore falsehood from the pit of hell to assert that the Chief of Staff or any state official was trying to prevent the police from conducting investigation into a matter which the state government originally reported to the police service,” the statement said.
The government also denied reports that officials attempted to pay the police to abandon or conceal the investigation.
“We categorically denied the fake news that there were attempts by the state officials to bribe the police to sweep the matter under the carpet. Such reports are unfounded and baseless conjectures,” Rasheed said.
“Nobody in the government is attempting to bribe the police and the police have not received any kobo from state officials as libelously asserted in a publication,” it added.
According to the government, it will wait for the police to conclude their investigation before deciding on any further action.
“The police are currently investigating the matter while the state government is also waiting for the outcome of the investigation for further action,” the statement said.
It also asked the public to disregard reports it described as attempts to discredit state officials and the police.
“We therefore call on members of the public to ignore any misinformation designed to tarnish the image of state officials or the police as relevant police units are currently investigating the entire episode,” the statement said.
“Governor Adeleke and top state officials are committed to transparency and law enforcement. No state official would therefore be involved in preventing law enforcement agencies from exercising their mandate,” it added.
