Ondo speaker on the run, lawmakers arrested

SPEAKER of the Ondo State House of Assembly Jumoke Akindele yesterday escaped arrest over allega­tions of administering the oath of office on two mem­bers without Certificates of Return.
House Clerk, Bode Ad­eyelu, was however, not so lucky. Police from
the Federal Criminal Investiga­tion Department (FCID) in Abuja arrested him. It was also learnt that the police detectives also ar­rested the two lawmakers, Messes Abayomi Akin­runtan and Malachi Coker representing Ilaje 1 and 11 State Constituencies of the state, who were sworn in without Certificates of Re­turn.
Daily Sun gathered that the two lawmakers that were allegedly sworn–in il­legally on June 1, had earli­er been invited to the Force Headquarters for interroga­tion over the matter.
Policemen from the FCID, Abuja, it was gath­ered, had concluded inves­tigation into the alleged fraudulent oath adminis­tered on the two lawmakers by the clerk, last Thursday.
The investigation, sourc­es said had been delayed till last week to enable the clerk make his statement, which he eventually did last Wednesday but failed to ap­pear before the police on Monday as promised.
The state Resident Elec­toral Commissioner of the Independent National Elec­toral Commission (INEC), Mr. Segun Agbaje and the two returning officers for Ilaje I and II in the April 11 House of Assembly elec­tion, Daily Sun gathered, had also been invited by the police for interrogation.
Checks by Daily Sun re­vealed that the police were acting on a petition ad­dressed
to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) by Ondo State chapter of All Pro­gressives Congress (APC) through its lawyer, Mr. Charles Titiloye, that the speaker and the clerk alleg­edly conspired to fraudu­lently swear in Akinruntan and Coker, without the Cer­tificates of Return by INEC.
Contacted on the devel­opment last night, the Po­lice
Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the state Police Command, Mr. Wole Ogo­do, said he was not aware of the development.