Osun ex-Amotekun commander fumes as govt recovers vehicle
A former Field Commander of Osun Amotekun Corps, Mr Amitolu Shittu, has accused the state government of invading his private residence in Osogbo, where security agents forcefully took away a Hilux vehicle belonging to him.
Shittu, who was appointed pioneer Field Commander at the creation of Amotekun Corps in 2020 by ex-Governor Gboyega Oyetola, resigned his appointment on January 20, 2023, less than two months after Governor Ademola Adeleke took over the helm of affairs in the state.
Speaking to The PUNCH on Monday, Shittu, who said the incident happened when he was away from the state, added that about 15 armed security operatives, including men of Amotekun Corps, used a towing vehicle to move the vehicle from his compound.
“They came into my house and forcefully took away one Hilux vehicle. My wife asked for a warrant, and they said they didn’t have any warrant.
“The team that came to my house has Amotekun, JTF, and police operatives. They are about 15 in number fully armed. They towed the vehicle from my park.
“The vehicle was given to me by ex-Governor Oyetola when I complained to him that I didn’t have a vehicle to work with as Amotekun Field Commander. I can’t imagine this happening to me in this state that I served diligently at the risk of my life. I have not seen this kind of government before in my life,” he said.
When contacted for clarification on the involvement of Osun Amotekun in the alleged invasion of Shittu’s house, the newly appointed Commander of Amotekun Corps, Mr Adekunle Omoyele, said the team went to the ex-Amotekun boss to recover state vehicle in his custody.
For more information, he referred our correspondent to the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Political Affairs, Mr Babatunde Badmus, who he said was a member of the state’s Task Force on Asset Recovery.
Badmus, in an interview with The PUNCH, said three official vehicles were in Shittu’s and efforts to recover them had failed as he refused to act on many letters sent to him by the Asset Recovery Committee.
“We have been on air in the last three months announcing that whoever has government assets in his or her custody should hand them over to the Osun State Asset Management Agency.
“Some people complied by willingly coming to submit vehicles and other valuables, while some that didn’t comply were contacted.
“Alhaji Amitolu Shittu was not excluded; he was notified that he had in his custody three pickup vans. We reached out to him more than a month ago, but he didn’t comply. Today (Monday), having waited for him all the while and got no response, we went to his residence and met his wife.
“We saw one of the vehicles and showed the wife the chassis number, which corresponds with the vehicle in the compound. So, we moved the one we met in his compound and told the wife that the two others should be returned as soon as he returned.
“Today is our first day of forceful possession. Although we are still in operation, we have recovered six vehicles. We will continue tomorrow. We will continue throughout this week,” he said.
