Hamzat Denies Links to Robbery Suspect

Oriyomi Hamzat has built his reputation across decades of broadcasting in Oyo State. His voice is recognised across Ibadan. His candidacy for the Accord Party governorship in 2027 has placed him at the centre of one of the state’s most watched political contests.

Now, days after a police raid in the Gbeku area of Olodo uncovered suspected armed robbers, firearms, and criminal charms, someone has placed Hamzat’s name next to the operation — and the popular broadcaster is not prepared to let it stand.

What the Police Found
On June 12, 2026, operatives of the Oyo State Police Command descended on a residence in the Gbeku area of Olodo, Ibadan. The target was the home of a man identified as Surajudeen Adio Babatunde, known on the streets as “Surii Ilupeju,” on intelligence linking the location to criminal activity.

The raid produced results. Five men were arrested: Ahmed Nafiu, 43; Olukunmi Olaniyi, 36; Femi Odeyinde, 53; Jelili Akinade, 50; and Muhideen Adio, 27. Firearms, ammunition, and suspected criminal charms were recovered from the property. Ilupeju himself remained at large, classified by police as a wanted suspect.
The operation was straightforward law enforcement work — until social media turned it into something else.

Hamzat’s Name Enters the Story
Within days of the raid, publications began circulating online portraying Ilupeju as an associate of Hamzat. The claims spread rapidly, carried by the speed and reach of social media platforms where context is optional and political motivation is rarely disclosed.

Hamzat responded on Sunday with a detailed public statement, describing what had been written about him as “malicious and mischievous.”
“Ordinarily, I would not dignify such desperate propaganda with a response,” he said. “However, because of the potential for misinformation and the need to set the records straight, it has become necessary to address the falsehoods being peddled by those determined to tarnish my hard-earned reputation.”

The statement was direct and structured — not the response of a man caught off guard, but of someone who understood that silence in a political environment carries its own costs.

The Argument He Is Making
Hamzat’s central position is both legally sound and publicly reasonable: the fact that a person may have had some form of contact or association with him does not make him responsible for that person’s alleged criminal conduct.

“The attempt to suggest that I bear responsibility for the personal actions or alleged criminal conduct of any individual simply because such a person may have had an association with me is both illogical and dishonest,” he said.
“Employment, acquaintance, or social interaction with a person does not confer knowledge of, or complicity in, every aspect of that person’s private life.”

This is a distinction that Nigerian law recognises and that public discourse frequently ignores. Proximity to a suspect is not evidence of involvement in criminal activity. The Nigeria Police Force exists precisely to investigate and determine culpability — a function that social media campaigns cannot and should not replace.

Hamzat made clear he welcomes that process. “Should the police require any lawful assistance from me regarding any investigation, I will not hesitate to cooperate fully,” he said.

The Political Context Nobody Is Pretending to Ignore
Hamzat did not confine his response to legal argument. He named what he believes is actually happening.
“Their intention is obvious: to score cheap political points by creating a false narrative around my person and my aspiration to serve the good people of Oyo State,” he said.

The accusation of political motivation is credible in its context. Oyo State is entering the heat of its pre-election cycle. The 2027 governorship race is already shaping up as a competitive and consequential contest, with multiple parties and candidates positioning for advantage. Hamzat, as the Accord Party’s flagbearer, represents a genuine alternative to the established political order in a state where the legacy of the late Senator Rashidi Ladoja’s movement still carries organisational weight.

Political attacks in Nigeria rarely arrive in the form of policy critiques or ideological arguments. They arrive as character questions, criminal associations, and social media narratives designed to reach voters before the facts do. Hamzat knows this. His Sunday statement reflects that knowledge.

Who Is Oriyomi Hamzat?
For readers outside Oyo State, context matters.
Hamzat is not a peripheral political figure who emerged from obscurity to seek the governorship. He is among the most recognisable voices in Yoruba broadcasting — a media personality whose reach into Ibadan’s communities and surrounding areas has been built over years of consistent public engagement.

His transition into electoral politics follows a pattern increasingly common among Nigerian public figures: the broadcaster who decides that commentary is insufficient and that governance is where change actually happens. Whether that instinct produces effective politicians is a question voters answer at the ballot box.
What it does produce is a candidate with name recognition, a public track record, and — as this week has demonstrated — a reputation worth attacking.

What Happens Next
The Oyo State Police Command’s investigation into the Gbeku raid and the hunt for Surii Ilupeju continues independently of Hamzat’s political situation. The five arrested suspects will be processed through the legal system. Ilupeju remains wanted.

Hamzat’s role in any of that, beyond what he has publicly stated, remains unverified. PUNCH Online, which first reported the matter, confirmed it was unable to independently establish any direct association between the candidate and the suspect.

That matters. In a media environment where allegations become facts through repetition rather than verification, the absence of confirmed evidence is not nothing — it is the appropriate standard.

Hamzat has asked the public to disregard the allegations and allow law enforcement to do its work. He has pledged continued cooperation with security agencies. He has promised that no smear campaign will deflect him from his 2027 ambitions.

“No amount of blackmail, false accusations, or coordinated smear campaigns will distract me from my commitment to the welfare, security, and progress of our dear state,” he said.
The election is still more than a year away. In Nigerian politics, a year is a long time — long enough for more attacks, more denials, and more tests of whether a candidate’s record can survive the political environment that surrounds it.
Hamzat has drawn his line clearly. The 2027 campaign will determine whether voters in Oyo State draw it in the same place.