Nigeria Content Online

The Senate
Majority Leader, Teslim Folarin, was on Monday quizzed by the Police
over the gruesome murder of Lateef Salako (aka Eleweomo).

Mr Folarin, who
was at the state’s police command headquarters on invitation, was
interrogated for about three hours at the office of the state’s
Commissioner of Police, Baba Adisa Bolanta, before he was moved to the
Crime Investigation Department (CID), Iyaganku, to write his statement.
The lawmaker was accompanied to the police command by Lekan Balogun,
leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) coalition in the state,
Yekeen Adeojo and Wole Oyelese, both chieftains of the party and
governorship aspirants; Ayoade Adeseun, Chairman, House Committee on
appropriation, Sarafadeen Alli, former secretary to the Oyo State
government, some of the suspended members of the Oyo State House of
Assembly, and many other members of the coalition.

Police almost
created a scene at the command headquarters yesterday when some senior
police officers with the Commissioner of Police wanted to push the
lawmaker into the hilux pickup van that was to convey him to where he
was to give his statement. He was about being pushed to the pickup van
when Mr Adeseun and other members supporters insisted that he should go
in his own car.

Accusing the police of bias

Earlier, before
going in for interrogation, the crowd that came with Mr Folarin had
accused Mr Bolanta of working for the state governor, Adebayo
Alao-Akala.

They shouted him
down when his men prevented them from going in with Mr Folarin to his
office, saying nothing must happen to him.

Journalists
waiting for information were prevented from coming close by the police
as he was driven out of the premises in company of some senior police
officers and their subordinates.

Speaking with
pressmen at the command’s headquarters, Mr Balogun said they had to
come with the Senator to show their solidarity as one of them.

He said he still maintains his stand that the CP was placing his interest above his professional calling.

According to him,
what he witnessed at the meeting between his team and that of the
police showed that nothing has really changed yet.

Until around 5.00
pm yesterday, Mr Folarin was still with the police where he was
reportedly made to give explanations to his alleged link with the
killing of Eleweomo, factional leader of the National Union of Road
Transport Workers (NURTW) in Oyo State, who met his untimely death
shortly after the local government congress of the PDP at Ona-Ara kast
Thursday.

As at press time,
it was not certain whether the senate leader will be detained or
released on bail as it was learnt that just as he was leaving the
premises of the state’s CID after giving his statement, he was
recalled, while some policemen were drafted to conduct a search on his
house.

NEXT also gathered that the police might bring him to court for prosecution today.

After last
Thursday’s incident, the police had withdrawn police aides attached to
the senator and interrogated them on what they know about it.

It was also
speculated that if he had not shown up yesterday, there were plans by
the police to declare him wanted today, probably, to embarrass him.

Since the major
crack within the Oyo PDP over the second term ambition of Mr
Alao-Akala, the murder of Eleweomo was about the major casualty.

A staunch
supporter of the governor, Eleweomo, reportedly led an army of thugs to
disrupt a session of the state House of Assembly where an impeachment
move against the governor was to be proposed.

Some of the lawmakers deposed to the move were injured, while the state House of Assembly suspended all of them.