By
Rahman Owokoniran
What and who could have been responsible for Ladi Adebutu’s arrest and his being kept in the DSS custody overnight as a scapegoat for the government bungling its responsibility to provide security at the last local government elections?
Ladi is an eminent dignitary of Ogun State who recently contested against the seating Governor. Suffice to say that Ladi is the leader of the opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP, which participated in the local government elections in the state last week.
How will the ruling party dare to orchestrate the arrogance of its party leaders arrogating to themselves the power of the Almighty? Ladi Adebutu never worked for the government and he was not a government contractor. He is neither an ex-convict nor was he involved in any scandalous crime to deserve such an embarrassing and humiliating treatment from the Federal Government spy agency.
After all, the thuggery incidents under investigation were not in any way connected to Ladi Adebutu himself. The incident that led to exchange of violence between APC and PDP gangsters happened close to the polling booth where Ladi voted. The man himself was a victim having been emotionally abused by APC thugs in the area. What manner of information therefore could have led the investigating authorities to Ladi Adebutu directly after the incident?
He had every right to be at the spot to cast his vote and he had also every right to defend himself against dangerous and unwanted threats. So if the violent incident around his polling booth warranted investigation, by all means so be it. But it should never have led to the summary arrest and detention of Ladi Adebutu.
What information led the DSS to his hasty arrest if not ill-advised scapegoating?
Except they considered his presence at the polling area a threat, which would be unfortunate. Even then, his arrest was by “order from above.” Absolutely, it was nothing short of witch-hunting.
The man was not contesting an election; neither was he guilty of any misconduct. He was simply targeted by the authorities to be embarrassed and humiliated as the leader of the opposition in the state.
Well, they have done their worst but they cannot stop God’s will. The people of Ogun State are watching from a distance with keen interest. And when it is time they will speak with their votes.
The fallout of the misconduct and thuggery that happened during the conduct of the councillorship elections in Ogun was the responsibility of the state government and nobody else. The government had the capacity to see to the conduct of a free and fair election and protect the integrity of the state and the people. But it chose to look the other way while thuggery took over the stage and innocent citizens were prevented from exercising their civic rights. Then they descended upon innocent citizens and made a scapegoat of them. Chief Adedibu happened to be one of many innocent victims of APC’s underworld gangsters deployed to frustrate voters at the polling stations. Apparently, the hoodlums are sacred cows.
What an irony that the state government that should ensure the orderly conduct of elections chose to abdicate its responsibility and turn around to point fingers. What a tragic loss to our nation that our best frontrunners can only display evidence of calamity and destruction to score cheap points politically.
At this point, it is not enough to just release Chief Oladipupo Adebutu from DSS detention. The Governor of Ogun State owes Chief Adebutu an unreserved apology on behalf of the Ogun State Government and Ogun State people.
RAHMAN OWOKONIRAN WROTE FROM LAGOS
