Controversy has continued to trail the demolition of a bungalow hideout used by the gang that abducted Mrs. Olaide Busayo Adegoke John-Paul, the younger sister of former Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu along with her 12 years twin sons.
Speaking, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Ibadan Northwest/IbadanSouthwest Federal Constituency, Hon. Samson Fatola condemned the state government for ruining a vital criminal investigation through the hasty demolition of the Lako community kidnappers’ den.
The building located in the Oluyole Local Government Area was used as a hideout by the criminals. He lambasted the government’s decision to bring in the bulldozers and reduce the bungalow to rubble less than 48 hours after the victims were rescued.
By flattening the property while investigations into the high-profile kidnapping were actively ongoing, the opposition candidate noted that the administration effectively destroyed a critical crime scene and compromised the entire case.
A standard, thorough criminal investigation requires time for forensic experts to operate, the PDP flag bearer argued that the rapid demolition had permanently wiped out invaluable evidence.
He noted that the rush to clear the site had made it entirely impossible for investigators to dust for fingerprints, harvest DNA samples, or gather physical clues that could link the neutralized gang to other unsolved abductions currently terrorizing the state.
He further raised alarms over what he views as a deliberate attempt to shield the true owners of the property from public scrutiny.
He questioned why the building was leveled before the identity of the landlord or its caretakers could be made public.
Failing to properly identify and interrogate the property owners before destroying the physical evidence, he argued, looks less like a punitive measure against crime and more like a calculated effort to protect influential individuals.
While the Oyo State government had defended its actions as a demonstration of its strict “zero-tolerance” policy designed to deter criminals and irresponsible landlords, the PDP candidate insisted that the rush to erase the site feels like a deliberate attempt to silence a crime scene and halt a deeper structural investigation.
He called for a shift in priority towards transparent, forensic-driven law enforcement rather than hasty demolition that sparked deep public suspicion.
Also speaking, an Ibadan-based legal practitioner, Barrister Sodiq Aderogba condemned the illegal demolition of the property used by the kidnapping gang in Ibadan.
Speaking on Tuesday, Aderogba described the house demolition as an executive rascality that must be condemned.
According to him, serious malady requires a serious remedy but only within the confines of the law, saying, “Those who don’t know that it is difficult to sustain such an aberration must be educated. Why doesn’t the government just kill those already arrested ? Why keep them to be charged to court then?
“If tomorrow, another victim of kidnapping is kept in someone’s house, the people will demand that the house must be demolished whether or not the landlord is involved and the government must do so without a court order.
“Nobody will listen to any explanation. That is why this madness must not be encouraged. That is why this is a bad precedent.
“Whatever intelligence the government must have had as to the involvement of the owner of that property in the kidnapping must be published.
“We deserve to know the name of the landlord since some of the suspects are said to be mere agents”, he said.
He added that the state government must publish all information and documents at their disposal which so much provoked the rascality and cannot wait to be tendered in court.
“This must be done or lest credence is given to the conspiracy theory of “government trying to cover up something.
“Even in Edo State where there is a valid law of the state permitting demolition, we have said it is a bad law that only promotes executive recklessness and undermines the rule of law.
“Only with a valid order of court should such a house be demolished as it is only with the order of court that the suspects arrested can be jailed or killed.
“If the house must be confiscated or demolished, like the suspects arrested must be killed or jailed for life, then the court must pronounce the same. That is how a sane society is run”, he said.
