An aide to Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, Shakirulahi Babatunde, has allegedly staged his own kidnapping in a bid to extort money from the state government.
But the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) accused the Adeleke administration of trying to link the opposition to the alleged fake abduction and create political tension.
The party also urged the Nigeria Police Force not to allow the matter to be covered up.
Governor Adeleke’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said the police were investigating the case and denied claims that government officials were trying to stop the probe.
“Our attention has been drawn to a reported case of self -kidnapping by one of the governor’s media aides, Shakirulahi Babatunde.
“We immediately want the public to know that the police are investigating the matter without any pressure from the state government,” Rasheed said.
He said an incident report was filed after Babatunde sent a message claiming he had been kidnapped, following instructions from Chief of Staff Kazeem Akinleye.
Rasheed added that the matter was also reported to the Anti Kidnapping Squad, which began investigations.
He dismissed claims that officials tried to bribe police officers, saying, “Nobody in the government is attempting to bribe the police and the police have not received any kobo from state officials as libelously asserted in a publication.”
Meanwhile, police investigations are ongoing, although no official statement has been issued.
The APC said Babatunde was later arrested at his hideout by police from Dugbe Divisional Police in Osogbo, where he allegedly confessed to the crime.
