The Secretary to the Osun State Government, Teslim Igbalaye, has been arrested along with five others by the state Police Command during a raid on his home in Osogbo.

According to the police, one of the suspects arrested at the SSG’s residence, Oladele Abiodun, was already on their watchlist for alleged criminal offences.

Osun Police Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Ojelabi, disclosed this in a statement. He said items recovered from Igbalaye’s residence include N4,810,500 cash, two Permanent Voter Cards, a voter register, a Dynabook laptop, a photocopier, and a printer.

Those arrested alongside Igbalaye are Akande Taiwo (60), Adeyemo Lukman (45), Olaoye Muftau (50), and Aderemi Musliu (40).

The police said the operation was based on intelligence that members of a criminal gang were hiding at a location in Osogbo. The recovery of cash and a voter register has raised concerns about possible electoral offences, including vote-buying under Section 121 of the Electoral Act 2022, criminal conspiracy, and harbouring a wanted criminal.

The command stated that no one is above the law, regardless of status or political affiliation, and anyone found culpable will be prosecuted.

However, the Osun State Government has accused the police of invading the SSG’s residence without a search warrant. The Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi, claimed that a combined team led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations forcefully entered the premises and arrested everyone they found there.

Investigations are ongoing.