Minority Leader of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Chief Gboyega Aribisogan, has said his arrest by some policemen in Ado-Ekiti, last week, was not connected to any crime as being speculated.
He said the arrest was in connection with a publication in ‘New Democrat’, his newspaper publication. He said the cops needed information about one of his crime reporters, Rotimi Brown, “over a misunderstanding between the reporter, some politicians and some military officers on a crime-related story.”
The lawmaker, who confirmed his arrest by the police, said he called the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Chafe, who advised him to cooperate with the men. He said the policemen who took him away were eight in number and came in an unmarked vehicle.
The lawmaker further said he had told the police all he knew about the matter as the Publisher of the newspaper. He was afterwards released.
He, however, said that some powerful politicians in Ekiti State and some military officers were trying to use the arrest as a tool of propaganda to smear his
name.
He said, “I believe some powerful politicians and military officers are afraid of their shadows and want to use this to embarrass and intimidate me to
submission.
“The issue is not about me or any scam; it is about one of our freelance journalists who is investigating a story of the alleged involvement of an outgoing governor in the South-West and some military officers in the ongoing Dasukigate trial.
“Apart from being a notable politician, I am a veteran journalist and publisher. I cannot be intimidated or cowed by any politician, no matter his
status.
“I understand the hazards of the profession as a journalist of so many years. Even as a politician, I know that opponents can go to any length to suppress or subvert the truth, but I believe no public officers should be afraid whenever they are asked to be accountable to the public.”
Aribisogun has been placed on perpetual suspension by his colleagues in the Ekiti State House of Assembly over his friction with Governor Ayodele Fayose.
He defected from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and joined the All Progressives Congress in the heat of the crisis, thus becoming the Minority Leader, as he is now the only APC lawmaker among the 26-member
Assembly.
He reportedly fell out of favour with Fayose because he was accused of holding a secret meeting with Ogun State senator, Kashamu Buruji, said to be Fayose’s political enemy.
Aribisogan denied the allegation but his colleagues directed him to beg the governor, and he reportedly declined.