A human rights activist and Chairman, Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS), Comrade Adeyemi Alimi Sulaiman, has taken the fight against corruption to another level in the state by reporting the alleged grand level of corruption in the state during the just ended tenure of Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola’s administration to the anti-corruption community in Lagos State.

He alleged that the resources of the state were milked dry by Aregbesola and his co-travelers.

Comrade Sulaiman made the report during the twin programme tagged “Gani Fawehinmi Awards and Celebration of World Anti-corruption Day”, organised by the Human & Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) and MacArthur Foundation with aid from the United Kingdom, held at the Radisson (Protea) Hotel, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos State, on Monday.

He also reported the immediate past State Attorney-General, Mr. Ajibola

Bashiru, who he accused of working round the clock to effect the arrest of the members of the group on trump-up charges with the intention of detaining them till after next year's general election, to the august gathering.

The general theme of the events was, “Public Presentation of Compendium of High-Profile Corruption and Financial Crimes Cases in Nigeria”, with sub-theme “Upright4Nigeria-Stand Against Corruption” delivered by a seasoned media practitioner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Premium Times, Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, where “Gani Fawehinmi Impact and

Integrity Awards” were conferred on three eminent Nigerians.

The awardees were the Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede; #ENDSARS Convener, Comrade Adesegun Awosanya; and CEO of Sahara Reporters on-line media outfit, Mr. Omoyele Sowore.

Dignitaries that graced the event included Barrister Femi Fulani (SAN), who was also the Chairman of the event; Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) Chairman, Dr. Muiz Badore (SAN); another senior lawyer, Barrister Adeyinka Olumide Fusika (SAN); former Osun State APC gubernatorial aspirant, Barrister Kunle Adegbite; Chairman, HEDA Governing Board, Alhaji Lanre Suraj; a pro-democracy activist, Comrade Shina Odugbemi; the West African Examination Council (WAEC), Chairperson, Dr.(Mrs) Abiola Akiode-Afolabi; and host of others.

The rights activist, who also took a swipe at the leaders of the anti-corruption groups at the events for folding their arms when the last administration of Aregbesola in Osun State was milking the state resources which, according to him, made the administration to leave behind a debt of close to N500 billion in workers’ salaries and retirees pension arrears for the period of 13 to 15 months.

Said he: “I was flabbergasted and demoralised to see that some of our leaders in the human rights community cum anti-corruption groups could organise this kind of programme without a word about the practices that were perpetrated in the government of Mr. Rauf Aregbesola.

“Even when our Osun-based civil rights group wrote series of Petition Letters to the anti-graft agencies for credible investigation of the immediate past government in the State, you were looking at the other side by turning my humble self to a lone voice in the wilderness as if you are not heard what was happening in the state under Aregbesola’s government.

“And to my surprise, we wrote a petition against the immediate past Attorney-General of the State, Mr. Ajibola Bashiru, over an alleged illegal acquiring of properties worth N2.2 billion with public funds while serving as public officer in the state for just period of six years and as a result of this, Mr. Bashiru is galivanting all over the place by boasting to effect our arrest over what he termed false allegation against his person before anti-graft agencies.”

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