[allAfrica.com] Armed Soldiers Arrest Gov Tinubu, Osoba, Adebayo Vanguard (Lagos) NEWS April 5, 2004 Posted to the web April 5, 2004 By Gbenga Ariyibi Ado-Ekitti ARMED soldiers drafted to supervise the postponed election in the four local governments of Ikole, Ikere, Efon and Ekiti South in Ekiti State Friday night technically put Governor Bola Tinubu of Lagos State, former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba and his Ekiti counterpart, Chief Niyi Adebayo under "house arrest" for several hours in the country home of retired General Adeyinka Adebayo at Iyin Ekiti. There was no election in Iyin Ekiti itself. Tinubu, Osoba, Adebayo and others were in Iyin-Ekiti for the funeral the mother of Lagos State Sports Commissioner, Mr. Bamidele Opeyemi. Lagos State Chairman of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, who was in the entourage of Governor Tinubu had it rougher. His security details were arrested by seven armed Mobile Policemen from Ado-Ekiti for onward transfer to Abuja on the allegation of being part of a team of thugs allegedly imported into Ekiti State to disrupt the postponed local government election in the state. Not even the pleas by Prince Ogunleye that he was in Iyin Ekiti to honour Mr. Opeyemi, Lagos State Commissioner for Sports whose mother was being buried in Iyin could save the details from spending the night in police detention. He was said to ave spent the night at the station with his police details. Vanguard gathered that trouble started for Tinubu and company at about 11p.m. when the armed Mobile Policemen arrested Ogunleye's details on their way to General Adeyinka's residence where Tinubu and others who had left the post- funeral reception for Opeyemi's mum were being entertained. Their identity cards and pleas could not dissuade the MOPOL who insisted that there was a security report of an invading army to foment election trouble in Ekiti State. Ogunleye immediately sent a Save-Our-Soul to Tinubu who immediately dispatched his ADC to explain their presence to the police authorities. But they remained un-persuaded. The ADC, Vanguard was told, was queried why Governor Tinubu did not first of all announce his presence in the state if there were no sinister motives to the visit. While all of this was going on, Vanguard gathered that a truckload of armed soldiers which had arrived General Adebayo's residence in Iyin Ekiti, started a drill session as well as sang provocative songs which were ignored by Governor Tinubu's security escorts all night long. But no one dared ventured out of the expansive residence of General Adebayo because of the activities of the security men who had cordoned off the area. It took the intervention of the Zonal Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) on Saturday morning to get the arrested men freed for their onward journey to the birthday celebration of the matriarch of the Ajasin family- - Chief Baba Funke Ajasin. Commenting on the incident, former Governor Adeniyi Adebayo of Ekiti State decried the action of the security as "barbaric and primitive," adding that the "order was from people in government being chased by their shadows. Imagine they brought about 100 MOPOL and soldiers to this place to molest us and just this week too, myself and my guests had been molested severally." Ex-Governor Osoba in his remark at the press conference on the incident before departure to the Ajasin birthday events in Owo noted that "the present trend should not continue as it could truncate our nascent democracy." Governor Tinubu also warned that a politicised Police "would soon lose respect and people may tend to defend their inalienable rights if the Police continue to act above their limits." All efforts to speak with the state Police Commissioner, Mr. Adanaya Gaya, was abortive but the Chief Press Secretary to Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, said: "It was a lie to say that Governor Fayose ordered that the personalities be put under house arrest," adding: " A governor of a state and former governors are free to move about in any part of the country." Meanwhile, candidates of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) have won all the four councils in the re-scheduled elections in Ekiti State last Saturday. According to the results released by the Chairman of Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission (EKSIEC), Chief David Awolumate, in Ado Ekiti, Chief Banji Aluko of PDP scored 35,797 against Chief Olatunji Akomolafe of AD for Ikere local government, while Kehinde Agoola (PDP) emerged victorious in Ikole LG, scoring 67,056 votes against Bunmi Ogunleye of AD who polled 44, 737 votes. Joseph Omolase (PDP) won in Ekiti South-West by scoring 30,781 votes against Alhaji Aderemi Badmus of AD who polled 1,740 votes, while in Efon, Prince Aderogba Agbaje of PDP won by polling 28, 757 votes against AD candidate, Mr. Adio Afolayan who scored 2, 739 votes. Bye election for the two wards of Ijan ward D and Ado Ekiti ward 10 was postponed to enable the commission print materials for the election.   =============================================================================   Copyright © 2004 Vanguard. All rights reserved. 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