Kwara State Government Orders Arrest Of Elderly Resident For Criticising Governor Abdulrazaq’s ‘Poorly Constructed’ Tanke Flyover Bridge
December 23, 2023
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq-led Kwara State government has ordered the arrest of an elderly male resident of the state, Alhaji Abdulganiyu Babaimale, for criticising the governor regarding the “poorly” constructed Tanke Flyover Bridge.
It was gathered that a team of police officers led by the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Surveillance, CSP Mustapha Olayemi, stormed a mosque at about 5:30pm, arrested Babaimale and took him to A Division Police Command in Ilorin, the state capital.
The police operatives were said to have interrogated Babaimale following a petition filed against him by the Kwara State government regarding his alleged criticism of the state Governor over the poorly constructed bridge.
One of Babaimale’s family members who spoke on the condition of anonymity on Saturday said that Babaimale was arrested in front of the Mosque after Salat prayer and whisked him to A-Division in a commando style.
The family source however, said the police insisted that they would continue making arrests, as the governor had reportedly provided a list of individuals perceived as causing disturbances, with the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the main opposition political party, Mr Olusegun Olusola Sholyments, being a prominent name on the alleged list.
The family source said that “The situation is deeply troubling as it appears that the police intentionally orchestrated the arrest during the weekend to instill fear and silence opposition figures.
“The family members are left distraught, fearing that Alhaji Abdulganiyu Babaimale may remain in custody until Wednesday due to an upcoming public holiday.”
Recall that the project was awarded to a prominent local contractor JMK Construction Company Limited for N2,272,899,200.00 with a completion period of 12 months.
It was subsequently revoked and re-awarded to City International Dimensions on December 13th, 2021.
Meanwhile, the N2.4billion flyover project along Tanke/University of Ilorin road was promised to be ready for use in January 2023 by the Kwara State Government.
However, the project has become a focal point of controversy within the state, primarily due to mounting concerns regarding the quality of work executed on the bridge.
When contacted for confirmation of the arrest and comments on the matter, the Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ejire Toun, in a text message promised to get back as soon as possible but it had not done that at the time of filing this report.
