Nigeria: Police Arrest Aide to PDP Chieftain Ladi Adebutu

20 November 2024

The Ogun State government likened Mr Adebutu to a wounded lion who is trying to save face after his recent travails.

Gafar Asaolu, the personal assistant to the former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, has been arrested and detained by the police.

MrAsaolu was arrested on the allegation that he led the attack on the vice chairmanship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ikenne Local Government, Muhammed Olaitan Efuwape, during Saturday's local government elections in the state and one Biola.

Mr Efuwape was said to have escaped death by the whiskers with injuries but Biola wasn't so lucky as gunshots fired by the illegal policemen hired from Lagos and some PDP thugs, shattered his legs. He was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Mr Asaolu, who is being detained at the Eleweran headquarters of the Ogun State Police Command, was brought by his lawyer and was promptly detained.

His principal, Mr Adebutu had earlier been arrested by both the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police over the incident.

Meanwhile, the Ogun State government has described the allegation leveled against Governor Dapo Abiodun by Mr Adebutu, as the ranting of a drowning man.

The PDP chieftain had accused Governor Abiodun of inability to account for local government funds in the last five years.

In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, the Ogun State government said it was not surprised by the antics of the PDP chieftain, who it noted is currently under investigation by security agencies for acts of electoral violence and attempted murder, as he has acquired notoriety over the years for making baseless and empty claims that call his sanity into question.

The statement added that Mr Adebutu has become like a wounded lion who is trying to save face after his recent travail at the hands of security agents over his electoral malfeasance on Saturday.

The statement said: "We do not find it shocking that a man who aspired to govern Ogun State but was roundly rejected by voters would claim that a governor who is not a signatory to local government accounts squandered council funds amounting to N214 billion in five years.

"That means, conceptually, that the said local governments did not pay any salaries and did not execute any projects in those five years, and it says a lot about a governorship candidate whose own running mate described him as a complete disaster.

"If Ladi Adebutu, a child in an adult body, knows anything at all about the art of governance, let alone the activities of the Ogun State Government under Prince Dapo Abiodun, he would not be making such flippant, hollow, and jejune accusations.

"The fact is that at no time did Governor Abiodun touch a dime of LG funds in Ogun State, but Adebutu has to entertain his crowd.

"It has become quite characteristic of this devious character to lie against Governor Abiodun with satanic fervor any time he is called upon to account for his rich biography of crimes.

"For instance, the fact is well known that apart from his recent case, he is standing trial for vote buying and conspiracy, and was a fugitive in a foreign land for months before returning home to utter ignominy.

"Ladi Adebutu is a drowning clown who believes that he can achieve through rabble-rousing and blackmail what he couldn't achieve through the electoral and court processes, where he failed in his desperate and ruinous bid to unseat a popular democratically elected governor.

"He is a man adept at accusations and name-calling but a complete failure where enterprise, dignity, and discipline are called for. He is desperate to be relevant and in the news at all costs, and those taking him seriously need evaluation, just like he himself needs mental evaluation.

"Accused of sending thugs to snatch ballots during the local council polls on Saturday, Adebutu, in the video doing the rounds, openly said that he doesn't mind violent change.

"He is a sinking ship looking for someone to drag along to hell with him and should be completely ignored by right-thinking people."

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.