Reps Condemn Osun LG Crisis, Ask IGP, DSS DG To Restore Order

ABUJA – The House of Representatives has waded into the Osun State local government crisis.

The House at its plenary, on Wednesday, unanimously re­solved and called on the Inspec­tor General of Police, the Director General of the Department of State Services and other securi­ty heads to immediately restore law, order, peace and tranquillity in Osun State.

The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, following an amendment by Rep. Isiaka Ibrahim pointed out that the committee will bring up more comprehensive understanding of circumstances of the matter.

The motion of urgent public importance was moved by nine members of the House of Rep­resentatives from the state fol­lowing the outbreak of violence in several parts of Osun State as a result of attempt to take over the administration of local gov­ernments by officials who were sacked by court judgement in November 2022.

The members are: Rep. Bam­idele Salam; Rep. Oke Busayo Oluwole; Rep. AjilesoroTaofeek Abimbola; Rep. Omirin Emanu­el Olusanya; Rep. Oladebo Lanre Alomoleye; Rep. Adewale Morufu Adebayo; Rep. Mudashiru Luk­man Alani; Rep. Akanni Clem­ent Ademola and Rep. Adetunji Abidemi Olusoji.

Rep. Salam representing Ede North, Ede South, Egbedore and Ejigbo Federal Constituency of Osun State who read the motion emphasised that on Monday Feb­ruary 17, 2025, violence broke out in several parts of Osun State as a result of attempt to take over the administration of local gov­ernments by officials who were sacked by court judgment in No­vember 2022.

The amended section of the motion, the Speaker said, after the investigation and where nec­essary, the Attorney General of the Federation will be invited to properly advise all parties to the dispute in the control of local governments in Osun State as to the true position of the law and en­courage aggrieved parties to seek judicial enforcement of rights rather than use of force.

The amended motion was sec­onded by Rep. Aliyu Sani Madaki, the Deputy Minority Leader of the House, after which a minute si­lence was observed during which prayers were offered for victims of the crisis.

The prayers of the motion were: “Condemn any resort to self-help, violence, killings and harassment by individuals and political interests in Osun State.

“Call on the Inspector General of Police, DG DSS and other secu­rity heads to ensure normalcy and order is restored to all local gov­ernments in Osun State.

“Urge the Attorney General of the Federation to properly advise all parties to the dispute in the con­trol of local governments in Osun State as to the true position of the law and encourage aggrieved par­ties to seek judicial enforcement of rights rather than use of force; and observe a minute silence in honour of persons killed in the course of the crisis that occurred on Monday 17th February 2025”.

The rest of the motion reads:

“Disturbed that the sacked of­ficials are now breaking the gates of their respective local govern­ment secretariat to forcefully take over the government of the local government without any court order.

“Note that the Governor of Osun State as the chief security officer of the state had raised an alarm on Sunday the 16th of Feb­ruary about an imminent threat to peace and security in the state while calling on the Inspector General of Police and other heads of security formations to take proactive steps to forestall the violence.

“Concerned that if the current trend of resort to self-help by po­litical actors is not nipped in the bud, it might encourage citizens to do same in the face of perceived rights and privileges.

“Worried that the present situ­ation in Osun State may snowball into a free for all unless urgent actions are taken by relevant au­thorities.

“Concerned that the prevent­able violence which happened in Osun has led to the death of six persons while scores of others have suffered severe injuries and presently receiving treatment in various hospitals.

“Further worried that if prompt action is not taken against this lawlessness and arbitrari­ness, it may escalate into a more serious security challenges in Osun.

“Aware that by virtue of Sec­tion 14(2)(b) of the 1999 constitu­tion of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the most fundamental objective and pri­mary purpose of any government shall be the security and welfare of the people.

“Also aware that as the repre­sentatives of the people, the House has the duty and responsibility to ensure safety of lives and proper­ties in Nigeria.

“Assured that the Nigerian Police, the Department of State Services and other security agen­cies have the capacity to restore normalcy to all the local govern­ments of Osun State.

“Further assured that if Attor­ney General of the Federation as the chief law officer of the coun­try can advise the parties, the tension in Osun State would be doused.”