Senator Ashiru
By PAUL ADAJI, Abuja –
Senator Oyelola Ashiru (APC – Kwara South), has dismissed claims by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), that illicit drugs were found in his Iloring residence during a search by its operatives.
The Agency had on Monday in Abuja, alleged that it had arrested and prosecuted three of Senator Ashiru’s aides adding that indeed, one of the aides was jailed about four months ago.
Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, made the claim during a press conference he addressed on behalf of the Chairman of the agency, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (rtd), in apparent response to Senator Ashiru’s contribution on the floor of the upper chamber of the National Assembly on the performance of the anti-drug agency.
But in a swift reaction, Senator Ashiru’s office said in a statement on Tuesday that the impressions created by the NDLEA were “wrong and fallacious.”
“This accusation comes on the heels of Senator Ashiru’s declaration on the senate floor that the NDLEA is corrupt,” according to the statement signed by Olaitan Adeyanju, Legislative Aide to Senator Lola Ashiru.
The rest of the statement reads:
“We find it preposterous and mere fishing for justification that NDLEA had to wait for the senator’s observation on the floor the Senate before making its spurious allegations.
As a matter of fact, Senator Ashiru never employed any aide bearing Ibrahim Mohammed or Mohammd Yahaya as bandied by NDLEA.
The agency claimed that it operatives visited the senator’s Ilorin house and found nothing incriminating. The entire house was searched, and nothing incriminating was found. If any drugs were found on certain persons mentioned by the NDLEA, it is rational to ask at which court of law were the culprits charged?
It is also important to state that Senator Ashiru has not sent any aide to the NDLEA to influence the dropping of drug allegations against anyone known as Tosin Odepidian. Indeed, all the names mentioned by the agency are strange, and none works directly or indirectly with Senator Ashiru.
The NDLEA has the duty to take anyone suspected of drug dealing to court rather than name- calling and engaging in media trial.
This clarification is necessary to set the record straight and address the misleading information circulated by the NDLEA.
It is an open secret that many criminals, cultists, armed robbers, and drug addicts find their way back into business after gratifying and bribing law enforcement officers.
The NDLEA ought to search its house and fish out bad eggs rather than seek cheap publicity!
Senator Ashiru remains committed to serving the people of Kwara South and upholding the truth at all times in the search for strict professionalism among our law enforcement agencies.”
