BY TIMOTHY AGBOR OSOGBO
No fewer than six persons suspected to be thugs have been arrested by the Osun State Police Command for allegedly attacking the state governor, Ademola Adeleke and his convoy. The hoodlums, including a teenager, were said to have clustered around the convoy of the state governor after sighting him at Osogbo-Inisa Road in Ikirun, headquarters of Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state and forcefully demanded money from him.
Sources in the Police informed The Point that the suspects, including Ganiyu Lukman, aged 30; Abodunrin Kayode, 30; Akinwoye Habeeb, 22; Kareem Sodiq, 18; Adetunji Tobi Adeleke, 28, and 36-year-old Ayansina Muideen Kolapo, had threatened to injure Governor Adeleke and steal from him if he failed to give them money.
Unable to achieve their purpose of coercing Governor Adeleke to part with some money while driving through the road, the hoodlums allegedly pelted Governor Adeleke and his convoy with stones and sachet water. The governor’s vehicles were said to have been damaged by the suspected thugs during the attack, which occurred on March 14, 2023.
According to the police, the suspects and others at large, armed themselves with dangerous weapons, damaged the windscreen of Toyota Hilux Jeep vehicles belonging to Adeleke, caused panic among residents and breached public peace in the area. One of the suspects, Abodunrin Kayode and others now at large, were said to have been in possession of crack cocaine at the scene of the attack.
Meanwhile, after conclusion of investigation, the police dragged the six youths before a Chief Magistrate’s Court sitting in Osogbo, capital of the state and slammed them with an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, unlawful assembly, demand ing money with menace, felony, and threat of violence.
The charge read, “That you Ganiyu Lukman, Abodunrin Kayode, Akinwoye Habeeb, Kareem Sodiq, Adetunji Tobi Adeleke, Ayansina Muideen Kolapo and others, now at large, on the 14th day of March, 2023 at about 2:45pm at Osogbo/Inisa Road, Ikirun, Osun State, triable in the Osogbo Magisterial District, did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit unlawful assembly, demanding money with menace and threatening violence and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol II Laws of Osun State, Nigeria, 2002.
“That you (defendants) did with intent to carry out common purpose, unlawfully assembled yourselves in such a manner as to cause persons in the neighbourhood to fear or panic and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 70 of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol II Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.
“You did with intent to steal and with threat to injure, or detriment of any kind to be caused to him, forcefully demand money from the Governor of Osun State, His Excellency, Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 406 of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol II Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.
“That you did with intent to intimidate or annoy, armed yourselves with dangerous weapons and attacked the convoy of the Governor of Osun State, His Excellency, Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 86 of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol II Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.
“That you did conspire among yourselves to commit misdemeanour offences to wit, wilful damage and conduct likely to cause breach of public peace and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 517 of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol II Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.
“You did wilfully and unlawfully damage the windscreen of Toyota Hilux Jeep vehicles belonging to the Governor of Osun State, His Excellency, Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 451 of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol II Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.
“That you did conduct yourselves in a manner likely to cause breach of public peace by throwing sachet water and stones at the convoy of Osun State Governor and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 249(d) of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol II Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.
“That you Abodunrin Kayode and others now at large on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned Magisterial District did unlawfully have in your possession narcotic drugs suspected to be Crystal Benzoylmethylecgonine a.k.a (Crack) and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 430(1) of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol II Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.”
However, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the allegations. The defence counsels, Najite Okobe and Tunbosun Oladipupo, made effort to move the court to grant their clients bail but it failed. Chief Magistrate Olusegun Ayilara asked the defendants to approach the court with a formal application for their bail. He then ordered that the accused persons be remanded in the Nigeria Correctional Centre and adjourned the matter till April 4, 2023.
