Day Of Shame When Police, CP HelpED Thugs Overrun Osun Park In Defiance Of Governor’s Order
By
Taiwo Emmanuel Adedapo
I was coming from church today when Asiri and his boys stormed Ife 1 Park in Ile-Ife, Osun State, adorned in APC caps and determined to forcefully seize the park. More disturbingly, they arrived under the escort and protection of police officers.
I am particularly concerned about this park because its management, led by Comrade Kazeem Oworo, has always been exceptionally accommodating to students. During my undergraduate days and even after , whenever there was a power outage, the park became a sanctuary for students to charge their phones and other devices because it has a 24-hour electricity supply. On the rare occasions when public power failed, the leadership of the park would even purchase fuel to power the generator solely to ensure that students were not left stranded and were able to charge their devices .
So, aside from the fact that students may now be deprived of this invaluable support, especially now that electricity remains notoriously epileptic, students residing around this area are equally unsafe. As I write this, hundreds of police officers have besieged the park, facilitating the forceful and unlawful takeover of the garage. Should this ugly development spiral into violence or gunfire, students around the Mayfair, Ibadan Road, and Ede Road axis would be directly caught in the crossfire.
Sadly, the police, whose constitutional obligation is to safeguard lives and property, are the very institution enabling the forceful takeover of the park. It was both heartbreaking and infuriating to watch police officers, who ought to be defending innocent citizens, deferentially addressing APC thugs as “Sir” while they supervised the occupation of the park.
Shame on Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Gottan and his spokesperson, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi Dsp Abiodun Ojelabi in your desperate bid to serve political interests, you abandoned the sacred oath and constitutional mandate entrusted to you—to protect the lives and property of every citizen without fear or favour, the power you now use against the people is meant to protect them, history will not forget how Osun that enjoyed utmost serenity hitherto now in crisis just because of your partisan interest.
To the students around the Mayfair-Ife Park axis, please exercise extreme caution. Stay away from the garage until these bandits in police uniforms vacate the park. Your safety is paramount.
TAIWO EMMANUEL ADEDAPO
08108351514