Osun Lawmaker Condemns Police Invasion Of Federal Polytechnic In Ede

The Minority Leader in the Osun State House of Assembly, Kofoworola Babajide Adewunmi, has condemned the invasion of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede by armed men believed to be officers of the Nigerian Police.

In a press release he personally signed and which was made available to AllNews Nigeria, Adewunmi described the invasion as irresponsible and stated that the action was a reckless show of force by agents paid from the public coffers to guarantee peace and safety of the people.

"The attention of the Minority Leader, Osun State House of Assembly, Honourable Kofoworola Babajide Adewunmi has been drawn to the brazen invasion of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede by armed bearing men believed to be officers of the Nigeria Police Force, irresponsibly firing gunshots, hence, throwing the school environment and the host community, Ede land, in palpable fear.

"Hon Kofoworola condemns in the strongest term this reckless show of force by those paid from the public coffers to guarantee peace and safety of the people.

"Nothing can explain the behaviour of the policemen who invaded Ede today, given how they put people of the ancient town in danger through the careless use of firearms."

While maintaining that such bad conduct would never be accepted, he charged the police and other security agents to show professionalism in their relations with people in the state.

He noted that they were better ways to enforce arrests rather than the impunity that the incident has caused in Ede and called on the police to look into the incident in order to bring the personnel to account for the gross professional misconduct.

Stating the reason for the fracas, the Public Relations Officer of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Sola Lawal revealed that some police personnel came from Osogbo to Ogberin Area of Ede. A student of the school, Hassan Ayobami, started recording their activities with his smartphone.

Lawal explained that the police personnel gave him a chase into the school where he was apprehended.

While assuring that normalcy has returned to the area, the institution spokesperson added that the Commissioner of Police, Olawale Olokode, had ordered the release of the student.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Yemisi Opalola also told journalists that police personnel was in the area to arrest some suspected criminals. 

Opalola said the problem started when some students started recording and taking pictures while the operation was ongoing, adding that when the men made attempt to arrest one of the students, his colleagues also attempted to stop the arrest.