The Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, on Wednesday, commended the 2023 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Ladi Adebutu, for visiting the police headquarters in the state over the vote-buying allegations levelled against him.
AFRIPOST reports that Adebutu, who returned to the country at the weekend after being away for about eight months in the United Kingdom, visited the police headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta at about 11 am on Wednesday.
The Chairman of the APC in Ogun, Yemi Sanusi, had petitioned the police, accusing Adebutu and other PDP members of vote-buying using preloaded ATM cards. The case is now in court.
On Wednesday, Adebutu was led into the state Criminal Investigation Department, after meeting the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, alongside his legal team and other loyalists.
Speaking with journalists shortly before leaving the command, Adebutu said: “I have come and I’m happy that this institution has done well; they have listened; they have taken records and I’m sure that this is the way to a better Nigeria.
“The frivolous allegations that Ladi Adebutu has been laundering his money, I don’t know how you can launder your personal wealth, that is the allegation against me by the APC; that I have laundered my money, that I have used my money to create empowerment for people, that I feel compassionate about Nigerians that are in need, that I have helped but they should note, I will continue to help.
“It was a dictate of my late mother to be of help to women and children. We have done empowerment programmes and we will continue to do them.”
Reacting to Adebutu’s visit to the police station, the APC commended him but asked him to take a step further by accepting court summons, which, it said, bailiffs had been unable to serve on him since April 2023.
In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Tunde Oladunjoye, the Ogun APC said: “While it is commendable that Mr. Adebutu has finally honoured the police invitation, after eight months, to ward off any unpleasant consequences that his non-attendance would have caused him, we wish to urge the police authorities to use this case to serve as a deterrent to desperate politicians and prove to all that no one is above the law and that truly the law is no respecter of persons.”
“Adebutu should take a step further to accept the court papers containing charges against him so that he can enjoy his fundamental right to a fair hearing.
“The police must investigate the allegations to the fullest as even PDP had publicly acknowledged in a press statement dated 9th December 2023 that Mr. Adebutu has been linked with the alleged offences of money laundering and vote-buying.”
The PUNCH reports that during Adebutu’s long stay outside the country, the APC alleged that the PDP candidate was running away from the law, challenging him to return home and face the allegations against him.
“He is afraid of his shadow. We also know too well that he is running away from being arraigned alongside other members of his party. If he claims otherwise, the best way to prove us wrong is to buy a ticket and board the next available flight home,” Oladunjoye said in a recent interview with The PUNCH.
As the governorship candidate returned over the weekend, the APC, in another statement on Tuesday, welcomed him back home, asking him to turn himself in to the authorities and defend the vote-buying and money laundering charges preferred against him by the Federal Government.
In a statement by its Assistant Publicity Secretary, Olusola Blessed, the APC said: “If it is indeed true that Adebutu has returned to the country after being away from the long arm of the law since April this year on the pretext of medical vacation, we welcome him back to his fatherland.
“We also urge him to turn himself in to the authorities and defend the allegations of vote-buying and money laundering levelled against him during the 18th March 2023 governorship and House of Assembly elections for which some members/agents of his party have already been charged to court.”