Osun State Commissioner for Environment, Mayowa Adejoorin, has alleged that police officers subjected him to humiliating treatment during his overnight detention following a shooting at an All Progressives Congress political procession in Ilesa.

Adejoorin, who was released on bail on Sunday, said he was arrested alongside an Amotekun Corps operative attached to his office and his driver while travelling through Ilesa on Saturday.

The commissioner made the allegations in a statement recounting his experience after his release.

Adejoorin said he was heading to an engagement in Ilesa when he realised that his driver had driven past their destination and decided to turn back.

He said they subsequently encountered a police officer identified as Wemimo, also known as Solo, who questioned why an Amotekun operative was accompanying him.

According to the commissioner, he explained that the operative had been officially attached to his office for protection because of the security situation in the state.

Adejoorin said the police officer subsequently informed him that he, rather than the Amotekun operative, was the person they intended to arrest.

He said officers searched his vehicle and personal belongings but found nothing incriminating before directing him, his driver and the Amotekun operative to follow them to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Osogbo.

The commissioner alleged that he was subjected to an inappropriate procedure shortly after arriving at the facility.

“When we got to the State CID, they asked me to remove my singlet and underwear and loosen the rope holding my trousers. I questioned why they were asking me to do that, but I felt helpless and complied.”

Adejoorin said another person later intervened and told the officers that the procedure was inappropriate because he was a commissioner, after which he was allowed to put his clothes back on.

He said he and the Amotekun operative were subsequently detained and asked to write statements, while his driver was released.

According to him, he spent the night alone in a cell and could not sleep because he was uncertain about what would happen to him.

“I was the only person in the cell where I was kept. The window was open, but I could not sleep throughout the night because I did not know what would happen next,” he said.

Adejoorin said police officers told him that Amotekun operatives were not permitted to accompany politicians while carrying rifles.

He said the operative produced his official documents and other papers to establish his status but remained in custody.

The commissioner alleged that the police further informed him that they intended to arrest other politicians found travelling with armed Amotekun personnel.

“They told me they would arrest all commissioners found with Amotekun operatives in their vehicles and that any Amotekun operative accompanying us must not be armed with a rifle,” he said.

Adejoorin, however, maintained that he had not been accused of taking part in the shooting and said the only issue raised against him was that he was travelling with an armed Amotekun operative.

“Till now, they have not told me that I committed any offence other than that I was carrying an Amotekun operative in my vehicle. I believe there is a political undertone to this,” he said.

The commissioner was arrested after a shooting during an APC political procession in the Isokun area of Ilesa left three people injured, including a 14-year-old boy, Tobi Ilesanmi.

The Osun State Police Command had said a government vehicle bearing registration number OSHAO4 was sighted near the procession before individuals identified as Amotekun personnel allegedly emerged and opened fire.

The command’s spokesperson, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, said some people at the scene pursued the alleged Amotekun operatives, with one of them reportedly escaping after allegedly pulling out a knife.

Ojelabi said operatives of the Intelligence Response Team, acting on a distress call, subsequently intercepted a white Lexus 350 and found an Amotekun operative inside.

According to the police, the occupants of the vehicle, including Adejoorin, were taken to the command headquarters in Osogbo for questioning.

The command said four expended cartridges were recovered from the scene, while a pump-action firearm was allegedly recovered from the Amotekun operative.

Confirming Adejoorin’s release on Sunday, Ojelabi said the commissioner was granted bail while the Amotekun operative and the firearm remained in police custody.

“The commissioner has been released. He was released around 1.00 p.m. on bail. The Amotekun operative arrested alongside the commissioner and the gun found with him are still with us. However, investigation is still ongoing on the matter,” Ojelabi said.