Osun poll: Adeleke accuses Police of aiding APC supporters to disrupt voting [VIDEO]

Osun State Governor and Accord Party governorship candidate, Ademola Adeleke, has accused officers of the Nigeria Police Force of allegedly aiding suspected All Progressives Congress (APC) thugs to intimidate voters and disrupt the ongoing governorship election.

Adeleke made the allegation on Saturday shortly after casting his ballot at Ward 02, Polling Unit 009, in Ede.

The governor claimed that he had received reports of alleged attacks and intimidation in Modakeke and Obaagun, alleging that the incidents were aimed at forcing voters away from polling units and preventing them from exercising their civic rights.

“As I am voting right now, I have just received a call in Modakeke and Obaagun that the police are aiding them in tearing them so that people can run away. And people are resolute. They just want to perform their civic duty,” Adeleke said.

He alleged that the situation was particularly tense in Modakeke and Obaagun, claiming that suspected thugs had taken away a ballot box during the disruption.

“It is not peaceful in Modakeke and, of course, in Obaagun. The police are aiding the APC to tear people so that they will not vote.

“The thugs took the ballot box and ran away. So we have already reported this to the security agencies. I hope they do something so that they will not turn Osun State into a war zone,” he said.

Adeleke Names Alleged Police Officer

The governor also raised a separate allegation involving a police officer he identified only by the nickname “London”.

Adeleke claimed the officer was deployed from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to disrupt voting in Ede.

“On privileged information, there is one police officer that they brought to come and do an attack job by the APC from Port Harcourt. They call his nickname London. He’s here in Ede hiding,” he alleged.

READ ALSO; Osun poll: Chaos in Ejigbo as voters, INEC officials run for safety

According to the governor, the officer’s alleged assignment was to create fear among voters and discourage them from participating in the election.

“His own job is to come and destroy Ede and scare people by shooting, so that they will not vote. So I’m calling the Inspector-General of Police to take note. I’m calling all the security agencies to take note,” Adeleke said.

He called for the immediate redeployment of the officer, stressing that the state should not be turned into a theatre of violence during the election.

“They should redeploy him. We don’t want him in Osun. We don’t want violence in Osun,” he added.

The allegations had not been independently verified at the time of reporting, and there was no immediate response from the police to the specific claims made by the governor.

Governor Raises Alarm Over Results Collation

Adeleke also called for strict adherence to the established procedures for the collation of election results.

He said results should move sequentially from polling units to wards and then to local government areas before being transmitted to the state collation centre.

“All we want is a free and fair election, so that people can perform their civic duty. That’s one. And two, the pattern of voting collation should be from unit to ward and to local government,” he said.

The governor warned against what he described as attempts to bypass the established collation process by moving local government results directly to the state capital.

“Not that they will take the local government collation straight to the state capital. That is not acceptable. That is a form of rigging,” he said.

Adeleke further alleged that the APC was planning to introduce fake ballot papers into the electoral process and urged residents to remain vigilant.

“And I’m calling on the authority that the APC is trying to rig and have some fake ballot papers. I want Osun people to watch out for that too. We don’t accept that in Osun,” he said.

The allegations come amid heightened security operations across Osun State, where thousands of security personnel have been deployed for the governorship election.