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APC Calls for Amosun’s Arrest over Arms Scandal
The All Progressives Congress in Ogun State on Tuesday called on federal authorities to promptly arrest the state’s immediate-past governor, Ibikunle Amosun, warning that failure to do so would constitute a mockery of the country’s rule of law.
Mr Amosun is a member of the APC, although he supported another party’s candidate for the Ogun governorship election in March.
In a statement made available to Premium Times on Tuesday, the party’s spokesperson, Tunde Oladunjoye said:
“The handover of such huge arms and ammunition is a confirmation of our pre-election outcry that the state was unsafe and that the governor was stockpiling arms and ammunitions for the purpose of wrecking havoc. If Amosun is not brought to account, then people will continue to mock the rule of law.”
The demand came a day after PREMIUM TIMES broke the news that Mr Amosun, who was elected senator in February, had hurriedly surrendered a large stockpile of arms and ammunition whose source had been seriously questioned by national security officials.
The weapons included four million bullets, 1,000 units of AK47 rifles, 1,000 bulletproof vests and an armoured personnel carrier (APC).
The police commissioner, Bashir Makama, took delivery of the weapons without questioning Mr Amosun or reporting the matter to his superiors at the Force Headquarters.
Mr Amosun’s conduct, which sometimes turned violent ahead of the general elections, pitted him against the APC leadership.
He was suspended from the party for supporting the candidate of an opposition party in the governorship election, even though he was himself elected senator on the platform of the APC.
Mr Oladunjoye said the PREMIUM TIMES story further corroborated the “violence” which Mr Amosun inflicted on the state during the elections.
“We will like to thank the Federal Government for deploring soldiers to Ogun State during the election. If not for that, the story would have been different and more lives would have been lost.
“For the first time in the history of elections in Southwest Nigeria, Ogun State was policed by four Commissioners of Police.
“Ogun State was not only identified as the darkest spot, it was also used as the Operation Centre for in the South West by the Police and the SSS,” the APC said.
The party said Mr Amosun must now answer for all his alleged brutality against its members during the election. as well as where he came about the huge weapons haul.
“Our supporters were maimed and killed during our campaign and nothing has happened. A governorship candidate of a political party led thugs to attack collation Centre in Ipokia LG, nothing has happened. The following day, a policeman was killed in an ambush while escorting results from Ipokia LG, nothing has happened,” the party said.
“With the latest discovery, questions must be asked from the former governor. Let him show the origin and manifest of the arms.
“Was there any difference between the volume imported and the one handed over to the police? Who has control over the purchase, storage, distributions and use of arms and ammunitions between the Inspector General of Police and a state governor?
“The Abeokuta metropolis has recently witnessed an upsurge in armed robbery, that the government of Dapo Abiodun is now tackling decisively. What can the upsurge be traced to?” Mr Oladunjoye said.
Mr Amosun admitted while handing over the weapons to Mr Makama that some of them had been smuggled out of Oke Mosan Government House, Abeokuta, where he stockpiled them to neighbouring states.
Premium Times
World-renowned boxer Anthony Joshua on Monday survived a ghastly road accident in Makun, Ogun State.
Eyewitnesses report that the incident occurred along a busy highway of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
The vehicle carrying Joshua, a Lexus Jeep with the number plate, KRD 850 HN, reportedly collided with a stationary truck under circumstances that are still being investigated.
Joshua reportedly sustained minor injuries, while two persons were said to have died on the spot.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has cautioned that any attempt to hurriedly re‑gazette Nigeria’s new tax laws could undermine parliamentary oversight and set a dangerous constitutional precedent.
Atiku’s warning follows public scrutiny over reports that the Tax Reform Acts signed by President Bola Tinubu differ from the versions passed by the National Assembly. Lawmakers, including Abdussamad Dasuki, raised concerns that the alterations could pose serious legal and constitutional risks, noting that they were not backed by any constitutional framework.
In a statement on X, Atiku said the directive to re-gazette the Acts effectively confirms “that the gazetted version of the Tinubu Tax Act does not reflect what was duly passed by the National Assembly,” calling it “a grave constitutional issue.”
He emphasized that under Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution, a bill only becomes law after passage by both chambers, presidential assent, and gazetting.
“Gazetting is merely an administrative act of publication. It does not create, amend, or validate a law,” Atiku said, adding that any post-passage insertion, deletion, or modification without legislative approval constitutes forgery rather than a clerical error.
Atiku further warned that rushing a re-gazetting while legislative investigations are ongoing “undermines parliamentary oversight and sets a dangerous precedent,” stressing that the only lawful approach is “fresh legislative consideration, re-passage by both chambers, fresh presidential assent, and proper gazetting.”
The former vice president clarified that his position is not opposition to tax reform but a defence of constitutional order.
“This is a defence of the integrity of the legislative process and a rejection of any attempt to normalise constitutional breaches through procedural shortcuts,” he said.
The Federal government has denied wrongdoing, insisting the laws will take effect as scheduled on January 1, 2026, while the National Assembly has directed the issuance of Certified True Copies of the Acts to ensure clarity and accuracy.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Candidate in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, is set to formally join the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on December 31, 2025.
The development would put to rest months of speculation about where the former Governor of Anambra State would pitch his tent in the coming elections.
Reports claim that Obi would be defecting with serving senators and other lawmakers elected on the platform of the LP, as well as remnants of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the South East region.
Specifically, Obi would be defecting alongside the Senator representing Anambra Central, Victor Umeh; that of Anambra North, Tony Nwoye; Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe; PDP chieftain Ben Obi; and members of the Obidient movement in the region.
It is not clear if the Abia State governor, Alex Otti, is part of the planned movement to the ADC.
The governor was recently approached by the PDP to join the party and re-contest his current position in 2027.
Further reports quoted Obi’s spokesperson, Valentine Obienyem, as confirming the planned defection of his boss to the ADC.
“Yes, it is true,” he reportedly said on Sunday.
Senator Umeh said the event would hold in Enugu, adding that it would involve all Obi’s supporters across the South East region.
“They will come from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi and Imo states to join those in Enugu, where this exercise will hold on 31st December,” he reportedly added.
Sources hinted that Obi, who has not hidden his intention to appear on the ballot in 2027, would contest the presidential ticket of the ADC.
On his part, Chief Chekwas Okorie, reportedly said that the expected formal defection of Obi to the ADC is a healthy development that could reshape the thinking and permutations of the 2027 general elections.
“I imagine that he would be defecting along with most of his associates and followers. I believe that a fortified and strong ADC will add value to the opposition and assuage the general fear of a possible one-party option to Nigerians come 2027. The APC, ADC and possibly the PDP locking horns in the 2027 democratic encounter promises a vibrant and robust electioneering campaign that will provide Nigerians the required options to make informed choices in electing their preferred leaders at all levels. I imagine that the APC leadership will return to the drawing table to map out the strategy to confront the emerging challenge. Nigerians are in interesting times,” Okorie stated.
National President of Njiko Igbo Forum (NIF), Rev Okechukwu Obioha, vouched support for Obi to ensure he reaches the pinnacle of his political career. He, however, cautioned that the ADC should not compromise merit and integrity in the choice of its presidential candidate, stressing that Obi remains the “hope for the restoration of the country on the path of greatness.”
