A legal practitioner in Osogbo, Osun State, Yusuf Adeshina, has accused the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Wale Egbedun, of orchestrating an assault against him and a court bailiff while they were executing a court order.
The alleged incident took place on Friday morning near the NUJ Press Centre and Osogbo Technical College in the state capital.
According to eyewitnesses, Adeshina and court officials were carrying out a court order to evict individuals from a disputed piece of land when those affected by the order contacted Speaker Egbedun. Eyewitnesses claim that Egbedun arrived at the scene with his convoy and intervened to halt the court’s actions.
Adeshina, who is also a legal counsel for Egbedun during his election petition, described the confrontation. He stated, “The Speaker arrived the scene with his convoy a few minutes after he was called. He opposed our effort to execute the court order. He told the policemen with me, including the bailiff, to vacate the place on the grounds that he had called a DCP.”
Adeshina recounted that when he tried to explain to the Speaker that he was being misguided, Egbedun became enraged. “I approached him, introduced myself, and told him that he was being misguided by the people at the scene. He shouted that we should leave the place. I cautioned him that his actions were misguided, and I gesticulated by pointing my finger at him. He accused me of madness for pointing a finger at him, and before I knew it, his aides and security personnel began to beat me. He supervised the assault on me and the court bailiff.”
Adeshina further alleged that he was forcibly detained in one of the Speaker’s security vehicles and dropped off in front of the Government House. “It is unfortunate that I am one of his counsels during his election petition,” he added.
In response to the incident, the Osogbo branch of the Nigeria Bar Association strongly condemned Egbedun’s actions. NBA Chairman Yemi Abiona characterized the assault as a grave act of impunity, stating, “We condemn the action of the Speaker; it is impunity. For a lawyer and a bailiff executing a court order to be assaulted by the head of an arm of government is an assault on the judiciary. We will do everything possible to ensure that the rights of our members and the integrity of the court are upheld. We cannot stand by and watch such recklessness and abuse of power.”
In reaction, Speaker Wale Egbedun denied any wrongdoing. Through his media aide, Tiamiyu Olamide, Egbedun stated, “The Speaker never assaulted anyone at the scene. He was called by some residents about the forceful ejection from the land. He went there, spoke with the leader of the police officers present, and called a senior officer to discuss the matter. After the discussion, the police withdrew from the scene. Our chief detail took a person into our car to protect him from a potential mob attack.”
