The Civil Societies Coalition for Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEO) has decried rolling out of armored tanks against innocent civilians in the state as barbaric, dictatorial and an attempt to subvert the will of the people and subject them to perpetual fear.
Also, the group called on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Inspector-General of Police, the National Human Right Commission (NHRC) and the international community especially the Amnesty International to pay special attention to the activities to the governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola and all security agencies in the state.
The group in a statement released by its Directorate of Media and Research after its emergency meeting in Osogbo on Friday, July 24, 2015 noted that “gradually, Osun state is turning to a police state in a supposedly democratic government”.
According to the statement signed by the CSCEO Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Sulaiman, the group accused the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abubakar Marafa of compromising his office by taken directives from Mr. Aregbesola against the governor’s perceived enemies.
“We recalled with pains how Marafa rolled out armored tanks purchased with our collective wealth against civil societies including members of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) during our peaceful rally on Tuesday, July 7 against the insensitive government of Aregbesola.
“For three days between July 6 and 8, residents of Osogbo, the state capital were subjected to perpetual fear as they were being terrorized by fully armed policemen with armored tanks being recklessly driven along major roads of the town.
“The sad memory of this peaceful rally was that in spite of the massive presence of policemen on the streets, the governor’s ‘State Boys’ were allowed to unleash terror on the protesters with many old people sustaining various degree of injuries. Surprisingly, no single arrest was made by the police.
“Two weeks after, precisely, Thursday, July 23, another event, tagged ‘A day summit on the state of Osun state’ by Osun Stakeholders was also almost thwarted by the same police command but for a better plan by the organisers of the programme.
Sulaiman explained that few days to summit billed to hold at a popular hotel, the state government and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state had tried frantically to stop the programme but failed and had to resort to using the police against the organisers.
“It is unbelievable that the state Commissioner of Police will issue a statement saying he did not grant a permit for the summit. This was billed to be an indoor programme where former governors, former deputy-governors, senators, monarchs and top people were invited as guests with a retired Justice of the Supreme Court as the chairman.
