A group of concerned Osun residents, under the aegis of Osun Transformative Thoughts (OST), has expressed its displeasure over the appointment of a controversial ex-policeman, Adekunle Omoyele, as the Commandant of the Amotekun Corps in the state, stating that the state governor has given the public the reason to believe that the contentious appointment is part of the alleged big plot to use the regional security outfit to win his re-election bid in 2026.
Omoyele, said to have been indicted by the Osun State Judicial Panel that investigated the EndSARS protest over extra-judicial killings and other human rights infractions against citizens of the state, is the former Chief Security Officer to Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun and was accused of harassing and intimidating the opposition leaders in the state during the presidential and house of assembly elections in the state.
In a statement on Monday signed by the group’s Coordinator, Comrade Afeez Olaniyi, it was noted that such a serially criticized ex-police officer should not have been offered such a sensitive security role at this period of our national life when good spirited citizens are making concerted efforts to deny rogues and tainted security agents from taking up influential and strategic positions in the land.
“The newly appointed Commandant of Amotekun in Osun State has a long list of issues on his neck. Besides being one of the indicted police officers recommended for demotion and prosecution for killing of innocent Nigerians by the Osun State Judicial Panel brought about by the EndSARS protests; he has also been named in the dastardly killings of two members of the same family, Olalekan Abideen and Kafayat Abideen in Ede in August 2022.”
In a petition dated August 8, 2022, and addressed to the Deputy Inspector General of Police at the time by the family of the deceased, an appeal was made to the police authorities to investigate the callous murder of their two children and bring the then CSP Omoyele Adekunle and others “found wanting with regard” to the unwarranted killing of their children, to book.
The group lamentated that rather being investigated and prosecuted for the alleged crime committed by him, Omoyele is being rewarded with sensitive position, a development describing him as an untouchable and a sacred cow.
“Appointing a seriously reprobated former police officer like Omoyele to head the Amotekun Corps is an insult on the sensibilities of family seeking justice for the deaths of their loved ones linked to the actions of the ex-cop.
“Governor Adeleke should reverse the appointment of this errant police officer forthwith or we will be forced to believe that he is being drafted in to rig the 2026 governorship election for the governor considering the fact that an Ede kinsman of Governor Adeleke, AIG Wale Abass ( rtd), has equally been recently named as the Chairman of the Amotekun Corps,” the group submitted.
