Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has raised an alarm over what he describes as security concerns involving members and loyalists of the Accord Party, just days before the state goes to the polls. Speaking to journalists at Government House in Osogbo, the governor said he had called the briefing to draw attention to what he framed as two major developments on the Osun political landscape, warning that they threatened the credibility of the coming vote.
According to the governor, there are credible reports that a police signal has arrived in Osun directing the immediate arrest of Accord Party leaders. He said the directive goes further, instructing that those arrested be taken to Abuja immediately and that they should not be released until Monday. Adeleke insisted that, if true, such an order would be illegal and would present Nigeria as a lawless country in the eyes of its citizens and the wider world.
The governor said the alleged clampdown is not a future threat but something already unfolding on the ground. He claimed that more than 62 Accord Party leaders are currently being held in what he called illegal police detention, without any charges brought against them. Among those said to be in custody, he named one of the party's own candidates, underlining that the arrests were reaching directly into the ranks of people standing for office.
Adeleke described the situation as deeply disturbing, arguing that arresting party leaders on the eve of an election, on what he called trumped up criminal charges, amounted to a direct assault on the democratic process. He tied the alleged arrests to a wider pattern, accusing the security agencies of helping and assisting the All Progressives Congress in Osun in what he characterised as an effort to rig the governorship election in the party's favour.
The governor said he had already taken the matter up personally with the Inspector General of Police. According to Adeleke, he spoke directly to the Inspector General about the reported directive, and the police chief promised to look into the matter. The governor stressed that he was appealing to the Inspector General to ensure that, if the development was confirmed to be true, it would be treated as unlawful and reversed rather than allowed to stand.
Beyond the appeal, Adeleke called publicly on the Inspector General of Police to issue a formal statement assuring Nigerians that no order had been given to arrest Accord Party leaders in Osun State. He argued that a clear denial and reversal were necessary to reassure voters that the electoral process would not be manipulated through the machinery of the police in the final days before the poll.
The governor's briefing comes amid rising political tension in Osun ahead of the August 15 governorship election, a contest that has already been marked by disputes and accusations between the main political camps. By airing the allegations publicly and demanding a response from the police leadership, Adeleke sought to place the spotlight on the conduct of the security agencies in the closing stretch of the campaign, while insisting that the detained party members were being held without justification.