Ademola Adeleke, the governor of Osun State, pledged on Monday to investigate reports that several osun state natives were forcibly removed from Lagos and dumped at Ilesa by Lagos State Government officials.

According to a statement issued by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, Adeleke has already discussed the issue with his counterpart in Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

However, Rasheed stated that early investigations had shown that on Saturday, youths from the state who had been collected up at several sites in Ilesa were dropped off by busses from Lagos.

The statement made reference to a narrative that appeared on Saturday in a news source, stating that hundreds of young people were dropped off by numerous opulent buses in Ilesa after they were purportedly gathered up in various parts of Lagos State.

It read, “The report was confirmed by an investigation team set up to confirm the veracity of the story by the Osun State Government. The state team reported that eye witness accounts confirmed the dropping of the youth in several luxurious buses by a team suspected to be from Lagos State.

“The state’s report showed that the youth were systematically dropped at Ilesa-Akure Express junction, Breweries; Ilesa – Ibodi – Iginla to Ife Express junction; Osun Ankara Express junction; Imelu Express junction; and Iperindo Express junction.”

In response, Adeleke expressed outrage at the news and urged Sanwo-Olu to investigate and, if accurate, put a halt to it.

Quoting Adeleke, the statement read partly read, “I spoke with my brother, Governor Sanwo-Olu on the matter. He too was surprised and he denied ever authorising any such action. Governor Sanwo-Olu has promised immediate investigation to unravel the facts of the situation. The Lagos team will update us as quickly as possible.

“I am subsequently directing our security agencies in Osun to mount surveillance in and around Ilesa to track the deported youths and their destinations. I will update our people on this development. I urge residents to be calm while the security agencies carry out surveillance.”

If the most recent report about the evacuation and dumping of individuals from Lagos is accurate, this will be the first of such episode since 2013.

The Osun State Government received several impoverished people, including two children, who had been evacuated from Lagos State on August 7, 2013.

Then-Special Advisor to Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Youths, Sports, and Functional Needs, Mr. Biyi Odunlade, accepted the destitute at the National Youth Development Centre, Ode-Omu, and stated that the state government had no choice but to care for its residents wherever in the nation.