A fresh controversy has erupted in Osun State after the police began investigating allegations that a media aide to Governor Ademola Adeleke, Shakirulahi Babatunde, staged his own kidnapping.
The development was confirmed by the Osun State Government on Wednesday, amid allegations that some top government officials were attempting to frustrate the investigation.
The government, however, denied any attempt to interfere with the probe, insisting that it was the state authorities who first reported the alleged abduction to the police.
According to the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, the alarm was raised after Shakirulahi Babatunde sent a message claiming he had been kidnapped.
The matter was subsequently reported to the police on the instruction of the governor’s Chief of Staff, Kazeem Akinleye.
Rasheed said the case was later transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Osun State Police Command, which commenced investigation.
The government’s confirmation comes amid reports alleging that the purported kidnap was staged and that the aide had contacted people linked to the government over the incident.
However, the government did not disclose details of the police investigation or say whether Babatunde had been arrested or made any statement to investigators.
Instead, it insisted that the police must be allowed to complete their work.
The government also pushed back strongly against allegations that Akinleye or other senior officials were trying to stop the probe.
It described such claims as false, arguing that there would be no reason for officials who reported the alleged kidnapping to subsequently attempt to frustrate the investigation.
The administration equally denied allegations that government officials offered money to the police to bury the matter.
Rasheed said no government official had attempted to bribe the police and that the police had not received any money from state officials over the case.
For now, the government said it would wait for the police to conclude their investigation before deciding on the next line of action.
The police have yet to publicly disclose their findings on the alleged self-kidnapping.
The government urged the public to disregard what it described as misinformation capable of damaging the reputations of state officials and the police.
It also maintained that Governor Adeleke and his senior officials would allow law enforcement agencies to conduct the investigation without interference.
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