The Kwara State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to online footage of the arrest of Comrade Musibau Esinrogunjo, aide to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, over unlawful possession of firearms and cannabis.
Earlier this morning, a video surfaced online showing some police officers questioning and beating Esinrogunjo over possession of live bullets and illegal substances.
Reacting to the incident, the Kwara PDP in a statement issued by its State Chairman, Rt Hon. Babatunde Muhammed, called for the prosecution of the Governor’s Special Assistant and demanded that the matter must not be swept under the carpet.
“The attention of our party has been drawn to the viral video showing some police officers questioning and beating the Special Assistant to Governor Abdulrazaq of Kwara State, Comrade Musibau Esinrogunjo, over possession of live bullets and illegal substance suspected to marijuana.
“This could be part of the early signs of Governor Abdulrazaq’s grand plot to import arms and ammunition into the State ahead of the 2023 general elections.
“The statement by the Kwara Police Command on the incident is a smoke-screen to hide the truth from the public. This is an attempt by the police to cover Esinrigunjo and shield from prosecution, is uncalled for and should be condemned.
“We are thereby calling on the Police authorities to order proper prosecution of the Governor’s aide. He must also be prosecuted for other infractions he has allegedly committed like breaking traffic rules and physical assault on a traffic warden. If found guilty, he should be made to face the law. The matter must not be swept under the carpet,” the statement reads in part.
Reacting, the Kwara State Police Command, that its attention has been drawn to a video clip making the rounds on some social media platforms depicting a scene of a man later identified as Comrade Musibau Esinrogunjo, being interrogated by a group of people over the recovery of some quantities of substance suspected to be Indian hemp and a cartridge wrapped in a paper.
According to the press release: “the Command wishes to set the record straight. The video in question was posted by a mischievous individual to achieve a result still unknown to the Command. What actually transpired in the day was that, the man in the video later identified to be one Musibau Esinrogunjo was caught committing a traffic offence by driving against traffic, thereby causing a serious traffic hold-up at NYSC Secretariat junction, Ahmadu Bello way, Ilorin.
“The traffic warden on duty who arrested him for the offence was delt a slap by Mr Esinrogunjo and his aide, which drew the anger of passersby around the vicinity. They attempted to physically assault him but for the prompt arrival of police officers that rescued and took the parties to the police Headquarters, the closest police Formation to the scene. A search conducted in the vehicle of Mr Esinrogunjo resulted in the recovery of a substance suspected to be Indian hemp and an item that looked like a cartridge wrapped with charm.
“The incident was looked into by a very senior police officer in the command, Esinrogunjo was later identified to be special Assistant to the state governor. He was warned to desist from such behavior in future. The traffic warden assaulted by the Esinrogunjo was pacified and asked to go back to his duty post while Esinrogunjo was also released.
“The command wishes to reiterate that, at no time was the suspect Esinrogunjo arrested for being in possession of weeds or bullet. It was a case of driving against the traffic and physically assaulting a police man that brought him to the police Headquarters. The physical assault on Esinrogunjo was from aggrieved passersby that followed the parties to the police Headquarters and the men were arrested, reprimanded and equally released.
“The Command has nothing to do with the video in circulation. Esinrogunjo was arrested for traffic offence and assault which had been satisfactorily delt with.
The video was posted by mischief makers, as such should be disregarded, the source of the video is also undergoing investigation.
“Kwara State Police Command is working hand in gloves with all relevant stakeholders in the state, chiefly among them is the state government, to ensure the state is safe and secure for people to carry out their day-to-day lawful businesses, hence the Command would not do anything that could cause disharmony in the state, please”, the press statement said.