The Osun APC Media Cluster has demanded the immediate invitation, investigation and prosecution of the Deputy Senate Minority Leader and Director General Of Governor Adeleke Campaign Council, Senator Lere Oyewumi over the bloody violence that occurred in Ikire on Monday, insisting that the police must not stop at the arrest of foot soldiers while alleged sponsors and masterminds are allowed to walk freely.

The call was made in a statement issued by the Publicity Secretary of the Osun APC Media Cluster, Mr. Tayo Oyediran, following the parade of four suspects arrested by the Osun State Police Command in connection with the killings and violence in Ikire.

According to the Cluster, one of the suspects, Sikiru Adedeji, reportedly made a startling revelation during the police briefing, alleging that the suspects worked for Senator Lere Oyewumi, whom they allegedly referred to as “Oga.”

The Cluster said the allegation becomes even more disturbing given the suspect’s account of the events surrounding the violence. According to the account attributed to Adedeji, Ayewo, described by the police as a notorious criminal and alleged associate of Senator Oyewumi, was involved in the reported snatching of a police officer’s firearm.

The suspect further alleged that following the seizure of the firearm, two innocent passers-by were killed while police officers were also wounded.

The Osun APC Media Cluster described the revelations as too serious for the police to dismiss or treat as an ordinary political allegation, demanding that the investigation be immediately expanded to cover Senator Lere Oyewumi and every other individual mentioned by the suspects.

“We are asking the Commissioner of Police a very simple question: if an arrested suspect, while being paraded by the police, identifies Senator Lere Oyewumi as the person for whom they worked and refers to him as their ‘Oga’, what further evidence does the police need before inviting the Senator for questioning?

“Are the police going to arrest only the boys who pulled the trigger while ignoring the person they allegedly worked for? This is precisely why the investigation must not end with the four suspects already arrested,” Oyediran stated.

The Cluster stressed that Senator Oyewumi’s political position must not shield him from investigation, insisting that no political office, parliamentary position or political connection should place anyone above the law.

It therefore called on CP Ibrahim Umar Zungura, Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command, to immediately invite Senator Lere Oyewumi for questioning and thoroughly investigate the allegations made against him.

The group further demanded that the police investigate the alleged relationship between Senator Oyewumi and Ayewo, establish the circumstances surrounding the alleged supply or control of weapons, identify the financiers and sponsors of the violence, and determine who gave the orders that allegedly culminated in the loss of innocent lives.

“We are not asking the police to pronounce Senator Lere Oyewumi guilty without investigation. We are demanding that he be investigated. If the allegations against him are false, let the police establish that through a transparent investigation. But if evidence shows that he sponsored, directed, financed or otherwise participated in the criminal activities that resulted in the deaths in Ikire, then he must be arrested and prosecuted like any other Nigerian,” the statement added.

The Cluster warned that allowing politically connected individuals to escape scrutiny while only their alleged foot soldiers face arrest would amount to selective justice and a dangerous precedent for Osun State.

It also commended the police for the arrests already made and urged the Command to resist every form of political pressure that could compromise the investigation.

The group appealed to the victims’ families and residents of Ikire to remain calm, while assuring them that it would continue to demand justice for those who lost their lives and those who were injured during the violence.

The Osun APC Media Cluster maintained that the people of Ikire deserve answers, not political excuses, and that every person found to have played a role in the killings, whether as perpetrator, financier, sponsor, instigator or mastermind, must face the full weight of the law.