Ogun Deputy Speaker impeached days after arrest, detention

The embattled Deputy Speaker of Ogun Assembly, Dare Kadiri, representing Ijebu North State Constituency 2, has been impeached for alleged “gross misconduct.” He was impeached on Thursday morning during plenary.

This comes after about 22 lawmakers signed a petition for his removal last week, and was arrested and detained on Monday, at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ogun State Police Command, following reports that he coordinated thugs who carried out series of attacks on the homes of some politicians, at the Ijebu North Local Government Area.

The Command had said the arrest and detention had no political undertone, claiming that Kadiri was trying to make the world see it from that angle. Also, the Command said Secretary to the State Government, Tokunbo Talabi, had no hand in his arrest.

Police Public Relations Officer, Ogun State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the Deputy Speaker was arrested and detained for alleged criminal invasion of, and attacks on, some politicians homes in Ijebu, including that of the SSG’s father.

He said: “On the 20th of February 2021, the command received a complaint from one Mrs. Olabode Adegbesan of No. 6 Ayegbami street Awa ijebu who reported at Awa ijebu police station that, while she was at home at about 12noon, some people led by the Deputy speaker invaded their home, throwing stone into the house and calling out her husband Hon. Kunle Adegbesan to come out to be dealt with.

“In the process, the hoodlums vandalized the window glasses of the house before they left with threat to come back with more violence. Not quite an hour after the first report, one comrade Akeem Temitope Akilo also came to report that, he was at the house of the SSG’s father when the deputy speaker led some people to the house at about 12:55 pm, vandalized the window glasses and removed the APC flag hoisted therein and took it away.”

Also, he said at about 1:30pm of the same day, one Otunba Adetohun Oduwole reported that Kadiri led some thugs to her house and destroyed the front door of the house as well as window glasses before they left.

“While investigation into all the reports was going on, one Hon. Yinusa Adekunle reported that the register been used for the APC registration exercise has been forcefully seized by one Hon. Abagun Yinusa.

“This prompted the DPO Awa ijebu to visit the house of the said Hon.Abagun for the purpose of recovering the seized register. On getting there, the deputy speaker arrived the scene with about twenty men in two buses and descended heavily on the complainant, Hon Yinusa Adekunle, beat him mercilessly and almost killed him,” he added.

Ripples Nigeria had reported the moves to sack him, after an ad-hoc Committee was set up by the Speaker, Kunle Oluomo, to investigate the allegations against Kadiri.