The acting chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Osun State, Kazeem Oyewale, has dismissed allegations linking him to an alleged assassination attempt on Adebayo Adeleke, popularly known as B-Red, son of Governor Ademola Adeleke.
Oyewale, also known as Asiri Eniba, described the accusation as false and politically motivated, accusing the Osun State Government of orchestrating a campaign to harass and intimidate him.
The controversy followed a statement issued by the Osun State Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi, alleging that B-Red narrowly escaped an attack in the Oke-Fia area of Osogbo, close to the Government House.
The government had reportedly linked the incident to hoodlums allegedly loyal to Oyewale.
But speaking with journalists in Osogbo on Monday, the NURTW leader denied involvement in the incident and threatened legal action against the state government over the allegation.
Oyewale, who is also a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to intervene, alleging that his life and those of his supporters were under threat.
“I want to call the attention of President Bola Tinubu, the IGP and Nigerians. They should come to my aid because the governor and Kolapo Alimi (Commissioner for Information) have called for my arrest over untrue allegations, and they are even threatening me,” he said.
He further alleged that his younger brother was killed in November 2022, claiming the body had yet to be released to the family.
“Those after me killed my younger brother in November 2022, and they have not released the corpse to us till today. This is another election cycle in Osun State.
“They have been trailing me and want to kill me. They are lying against me, making claims that they cannot substantiate, among which is the allegation that I want to kill the governor’s son,” Oyewale added.
The APC chieftain also denied allegations linking him to the destruction of campaign billboards and accused the ruling party in the state of using him as a scapegoat whenever internal crises emerge.
“They killed my younger brother and now they are alleging that I am behind the destruction of billboards. It does not sound logical. I don’t know anything about these allegations. This is the style they adopted in 2022. I am a member of the APC. What is my business with Accord? Any time something goes wrong within their party, they will blame me for it,” he said.
He also urged his supporters not to panic amid the controversy.
According to him, “followers and supporters not to entertain fear because nothing will happen to them. They used the style of indiscriminate arrest of NURTW members in 2022, but it can’t happen again. That is why they have embarked on a campaign of calumny against my personality.”
