•Adebutu
The Ogun State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18 election, Hon. Ladi Adebutu, today visited the State Police headquarters, Eleweran to honour the police invitation over the alleged vote buying allegation during the last governorship election in the state.
Adebutu, who recently returned to the country after an eight-month medical vacation abroad, was at the Police headquarters to honour police invitation and defend the vote-buying and money laundering allegations against him by the federal government, reports Vanguard.
It would be recalled that the PDP candidate had left the country after the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police in Abeokuta, in a letter dated April 16, 2023 and signed by Muhammed Babakura, a deputy commissioner of police, invited him to respond to a case of conspiracy, electoral offences and money laundering received from the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) of the Federation.
In the suit marked AB/10C/2003, Adebutu and the other defendants are being prosecuted on a four-count charge — criminal conspiracy, bribery, and two counts of undue influence which violates sections 121 and 127 of the Electoral Act 2022.
Adebutu who arrived the Police headquarters at exactly 11: 10am, in company of his lawyer, went to the Commissioner of Police’s office after signing the visitor’s register.
It was gathered that after 24 minutes meeting with the CP, Adebutu went to the office of the deputy commissioner of police in charge of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (CID) and spent about 30 minutes.
Speaking with journalists shortly after his visit, Adebutu explained that he was at the command’s headquarters to clear the air on the petition written by the APC.
He described the allegations as frivolous and untrue, adding that, he visited the police on his free volution.
Adebutu said, “Some funny innuendos have been going around and I thought maybe we will clear the air, so I came here on my free volution to clear any frivolous petition written by the APC and their irks. 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, that I will continue to help, especially when on this occasion, it was dictate by my late mother to be of help to women and children.
“We have done empowerment programmes and we will continue to do them and on January the 19th 2024 which marks one year of her passing away, we will be having special programmes again to continue these empowerment programmes as we have done over years, but because these people (APC) lack empathy, they lack compassion for society, they trivialize and politicize everything, they have learnt to weaponise poverty and when they seen anybody moving away from such a situation, they politicize this.
“I’m back in the country and I await them. All they were doing to disrupt the normal process of electioneering, we had elections and the matter went through the courts, but that process they tried to truncate, to make sure the process will not be truncated we had to arrange our movement, the matter has arrived at the Supreme Court and we are certain that we shall get justice.”
