The internet was at the weekend awash with an unclad video of a member of Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Timothy Owoeye, which surfaced on social media platforms.
Owoeye, a majority leader in the Osun parliament was caught on video naked, pleading for mercy from some unidentified persons at the dead of the night at an environment that appears totally isolated and bushy.
The controversial video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeHH_Ghngn8
How it happened:
According to police reports, Oweye was a victim of a ritual syndicate which had operated in the state for a long time
Mr Owoeye, representing Ilesa West for the All Progressives Congress, was actually a victim of a high-wire blackmail racket that had seen him part with a humongous amount of his personal wealth in a desperate bid to save not only his own career but family image, Osun police commissioner, Adeoye Fimihan, told journalists.
“The fellow is a victim of some fraudsters who duped him some amount of money,” Mr Fimihan said by telephone. “They tricked him to that place and did that to blackmail him so that he will not be able to lodge a complaint in the public.”
Mr Owoeye’s reportedly misery began about six months ago when he agreed to have a midnight shower in a market as recommended by herbalists he had been consulting for traditional prayers. The location is rumoured to be Osun Jela, described as a lull community between Osogbo, the state capital, and Ijesa.
But as he undressed and started having his shower, some persons — whom the police suspect had been lurking in the dark— emerged from the nearby bush, turned on lights and focused cameras on the lawmaker.
They syndicate promised not to circulate the video if Mr Owoeye complied with their demands for cash. He paid the initial cash to the crooks, which subsequently opened a cascade of regular financial flows to their pockets.
At some point during the blackmail, about three months ago, Mr Owoeye wanted to sell a filling station he owned after running out of liquid cash to keep hushing his so-called scandal.
“He did not sell the filling station, but he had paid them more than 40 million before then,” the source said. It was when Mr Owoeye was trying to raise money by selling his filling station that an associate pressed him to disclosed what his crisis was about. He was then asked to advised to take the matter to the governor and subsequently to the police.
“We are happy that he summoned the courage to complain and the police succeeded in arresting some of those fellows and they were charged to court,” Mr Fimihan said. “Whatever is being circulated is just a way of ensuring that he will not be able to complain.”
The commissioner said he could not immediately tell how much Mr Owoeye lost to the scheme, but the police had recovered N10 million of it already.
