- By Halimah Olamide
“Alhaji Amitolu Shittu was notified that he has, in his custody, three pickup vans. We reached out to him more than a month ago, but he didn’t comply.
“So, today, having waited for him, we went to his residence and we met his wife. We met one of the vehicles and showed the wife the chassis number, which corresponds with one out of the three.”
Attempts by the government of Osun to recover some assets allegedly belonging to it from the former Commander of the state’s wing of the South West Security Network, Amotekun, has sparked controversies.
While the government claimed it raided the Osogbo residence of the former commander, Amitolu Shittu to remove vehicles allegedly taken away after his removal from office, Shittu has accused the government of peddling falsehood.
He has threatened legal action over the claims by the state government.
The committee stormed the residence of the former field commander of Amotekun, Amitolu Shitu, in Osogbo, and towed away a Hilux vehicle, warning him to return the remaining two vehicles in his possession.
Shitu had accused the security agents numbering about 15, including Amotekun, Joint Task Force (JTF), and police, of invading his house when he was not at home, and towing away a vehicle given to him by former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.
A member of the asset recovery committee and a Senior Special Assistant to Governor Ademola Adeleke on Political Affairs, Babatunde Badmus, said it was a state exercise.
He recalled that the committee had warned anyone in possession of the government’s properties, especially vehicles, to submit it within 21 days, saying failure to comply prompted the forceful recovery.
“After the inauguration of this administration, we discovered that a lot of the government’s properties were carted away by the past administration. So, the governor inaugurated an asset recovery committee that came up with a report of assets carted away by the past administration.
“A task force to recover those assets and vehicles has gone on air in the past three months to announce, both on print and electronic media, that whoever has any asset in his or her custody should see the Asset Management Agency (OSAMA).
“Alhaji Amitolu Shittu was notified that he has, in his custody, three pickup vans. We reached out to him more than a month ago, but he didn’t comply.
“So, today, having waited for him, we went to his residence and we met his wife. We met one of the vehicles and showed the wife the chassis number, which corresponds with one out of the three.”
So, we moved the one we met in his compound and told the wife that the two others should be returned as directed as soon as he returned.
“Today (Monday) is our first day of forceful recovery, and although we are still in operation, we have recovered like six today, and we’ll continue tomorrow (Tuesday) we’ll continue throughout this week,” Badmus said.
On Wednesday, Shittu countered the government saying only one vehicle was towed away from his residence.
He said the vehicle does not belong to the government.
“For Mr. Alimi (Commissioner for Information) to claim that three vehicles were recovered from my house following the siege laid on my residence in the early hours of Monday, 29th July, 2024 by the uniformed Governor Ademola Adeleke’s political thugs, when in actual fact only one vehicle was recovered, appears to want to validate Alimi’s labeling as a “lying machine.”
“Only a vehicle that bears no identity of government was carted away as against the alleged three vehicles claimed by Mr. Kolapo Alimi.” Shittu said in a statement
He said he is challenging the Adeleke’s government to immediately publish any document relating to the particulars of the vehicle which “its politically motivated Assets Recovery Task Force carted away from my residence yesterday.”
He said the government must show proof that “I personally signed, taking the possession of the same vehicle, else, all those involved in the invasion of my privacy should be ready to face the wrath of the law.”
The ex-commander said all the vehicles given to Amotekun were officially handed over to the government before he resigned.
He said the vehicles had been grounded without replacement “despite the humongous amount of money they are siphoning through Amotekun today.”