The Osun State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of Abiola Ibrahim, an Accord Party lawmaker representing Irewole/Isokan State Constituency in the state’s House of Assembly, alongside 146 suspected mercenaries ahead of the ongoing governorship election in the state.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, who confirmed the arrests on Saturday, said the lawmaker was apprehended by operatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Intelligence Response Team (FBI IRT).
Ojelabi said Ibrahim was arrested in Ikire in the early hours of Saturday for allegedly harbouring the suspected mercenaries.
“He was arrested in Ikire for harbouring suspected mercenaries. He was arrested with about 146 people.
“FBI IRT arrested him. He is in their custody. He was arrested in the early hours of Saturday,” the police spokesman said.
The development follows an earlier report that more than 100 intending voters, allegedly brought into the state with newly obtained Permanent Voter Cards by an Accord Party member ahead of the election, had been arrested.
Footage of the operation showed uniformed police officers questioning Ibrahim at the residence where the individuals were found.
However, when asked about the people at the location, the lawmaker insisted that they were registered voters who had come to participate in the election.
“They are voters for the election happening today. Some of them are indigenes from outside. I did not hire them. I did not promise anything. Voting is their choice. I’m not their agent,” Ibrahim said in the video.
The police have not indicated the specific offences for which the 146 individuals are being investigated, while the circumstances surrounding their presence at the location remain under investigation.
