Violence threatens Osun governorship election

By Isa Isawade

Though six political parties were registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to participate in the August 15, 2026, governorship election in Osun State, the contest for the number one seat is certainly between two main candidates: Senator Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke of the ruling Accord Party and Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress.

Adeleke as the sitting governor of the state is banking on the strength of incumbency and what he and his supporters refer to as his starling performance in the infrastructure and health sectors, achievements the opposition figures in the state regard as a facade. They maintain that the roads his administration has constructed in the state are substandard and the two major flyover bridges he constructed at Oke Fia and Lameco in Osogbo are defective. They also accuse him of concentrating more infrastructure in his hometown of Ede than any other place in the state.

The APC campaign council spokesman, Engr. Remi Omowaiye, on July 15 at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Osun Council Guest Platform in Osogbo said the flyover projects were not awarded to qualified contractors, and as a result are highly defective. On the administration’s health record, Omowaiye said Osun State ranked poorly in the country.

On the popular record of the Adeleke administration’s clearing of all salary arrears, pension arrears and payment of the minimum wage salary scale to workers, the APC spokesman accused the governor of wrongfully sacking legitimately employed workers of the state on assumption of office. He added that the administration has maintained a grossly inadequate work force, especially in the health and education sectors in spite of the “huge allocation the state receives” from the federation account. Omowaiye said what the Adeleke administration received in the last three years was more than what the APC administrations of Rauf Aregbesola and Isiaka Oyetola received in twelve years combined.

The APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, a seasoned banker and public administrator with over 28 years of experience, a former Commissioner For Finance in Osun State and immediate past Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), has vowed to enact unbeatable human, economic and infrastructural developments across the state if and when elected governor.

However, rather than allowing their electioneering campaigns to remain issue-based, the two parties seem to have allowed their supporters to go on rampage, turning all corners of the state into theatres of violence. Election-related violence has been the lot of the state since the last quarter of 2025. The tempo became very high between the months of May and July 2026.

Prelude to the escalation of violence was the ugly twist to the campaign competition between the two dominant parties when hired agents started destroying campaign billboards of the two candidates across the state. The parties traded accusations over the provocative act. The Accord Party accused the police of protecting APC thugs who were destroying its candidate’s posters and billboards. The Imole Campaign Council in a statement by its spokesperson, Pelumi Olajengbesi, on Friday 8 May said the council wished to notify the Inspector-General of Police and the general public of “the growing pattern of politically motivated violence and coordinated vandalism currently being unleashed across Osun State by desperate elements linked to the Osun APC.”

According to him, in the early hours of Friday 8 May 2026, billboards belonging to the Imole Campaign and the Accord were vandalized and destroyed across several parts of Osun State, including Irewole, Ayedaade, Ife, Irepodun, Oriade and Osogbo Local Governments.

“We have it on good authority that this operation was coordinated by a notorious thug identified as Asiri Eniba, allegedly aided by some compromised security operatives who supervised or looked away while these criminal acts were carried out. This development is extremely dangerous and must not be ignored,” Olajengbesi added.

The council called on the Inspector General of Police to immediately order a full investigation into the alleged coordinated attacks and ensure that all persons involved, including their sponsors and collaborators, are identified and prosecuted in accordance with the law.

In its reaction, the Osun APC Governorship Campaign Council dismissed the allegation as “false, baseless, and a desperate attempt to give dog a bad name in order to hang it. “If anything, it is the campaign billboards and promotional materials of our governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO), that have suffered relentless destruction at the hands of political thugs visibly linked to the Osun State Government and its sanguinary Accord Party.”

Meanwhile, the police on May 12 condemned the violent acts and warned perpetrators to desist or face the full wrath of the law. A press statement signed by the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, warned that “Such criminal activities are capable of inciting tension, causing unnecessary unrest, and undermining efforts aimed at promoting the relative peace of the state.” It, therefore, warned all political actors to conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner, and in line with the law.
‎
“The Command therefore urges all political parties, candidates and their supporters to conduct their activities within the ambit of the law and in strict compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act. Political actors are advised to play according to the rules by embracing peaceful engagement, political tolerance, and lawful conduct, while refraining from acts capable of causing breakdown of law and order in the state.

“The Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command CP Ibrahim Gotan, mnips warns all individuals or groups involved in these acts to desist forthwith, as the command will not tolerate any form of criminality capable of disrupting public peace.”

Ojelabi assured that the police had commenced discreet investigation into the incidents with a view to identifying, arresting, and prosecuting the perpetrators in accordance with the law.

Incidentally, it was on that Friday that one Kolade Eluyera was killed in Ikire by some unknown gunmen. Eluyera was said to be an Accord Party agent and son of the party’s Women Leader in Ikire, Irewole Local Government Area of Osun State. The two political parties traded accusations and counter-accusations. The police command confirmed that the victim died from gunshot wounds sustained during the attack and said investigation to unravel the perpetrators and motive had begun. The killers are yet to be apprehended and since then, it has been one killing after the other.

Before the Ikire incident, there were eighteen politics-related disturbances in seven months leading to human and material injuries. However, after Eluyera’s murder, the frequency increased exponentially. In less than two months, 26 incidents claiming 13 lives occurred. This means as the election approaches, violence intensifies.

On June 3 around 9:00 pm in Osogbo, unknown gunmen trailed and opened fire on a car in which the Osogbo Local Government Chairman of Accord Party and his associates were travelling. He was quickly rescued and rushed to the University of Osun Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, where he was admitted for treatment following injuries sustained during the attack. Two days after on June 5, shootings between supporters of the APC and Accord Party occurred in four places- Owode-Ede, Aisu, Olaiya, and Oke-Fia leaving two persons killed and many others injured. The following day, June 6, supporters of the two parties clashed at Owode-Ede one person was killed and several others sustained injuries.

Between October 2025 and June 2026, a total of 44 election-related violent incidents resulting in 13 fatalities were recorded. There were also 24 non-election-related violent incidents during the same period consuming an additional 23 lives, according to the statistics released by an NGO, Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) in June 2026. KDI raised concerns about this sharp increase in election-related violence between May and June.

The organisation’s Executive Director, Bukola Idowu, said the incidents resulted in fatalities, injuries, destruction of property and growing fear among residents. He urged stakeholders to take urgent steps to prevent further escalation. Idowu noted that this could undermine public confidence and threaten the integrity of the electoral process if not addressed promptly. He said the “concentration of incidents barely two months preceding the election constitutes a significant early warning signal that must not be ignored and requires urgent preventive action.”

As the ruling Accord Party accuses the main opposition party in the state, APC, of planning and perpetrating violence against its members, the APC also says Accord Party is the culprit.

A chieftain of the APC and former Speaker, Osun House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, who spoke on behalf of other lawmakers said, “We further wish to alert security agencies to intelligence available to our forum indicating a coordinated plot to unleash violence against members and supporters of the All Progressives Congress across Osun State. We have also received intelligence reports that Ezekiel Olagoke, popularly known as Ezekiel Oba, from Offa in Kwara State, alongside other associates, arrived in Osogbo this afternoon.

“We are informed that Ezekiel Olagoke currently serves as a Special Assistant on Internal Security Matters to Governor Ademola Adeleke and has long been associated with political violence and the sponsorship of cult-related activities. Security agencies should immediately investigate these reports and monitor all individuals whose activities may constitute a threat to public peace. We have also been informed of a secret meeting held yesterday night at BlueWhite Roof Hotel in the Oke Oniti area where plans were discussed on how to attack commercial tricycle operators displaying campaign materials associated with our governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, popularly known as AMBO. We urge security agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding the meeting and take necessary preventive measures,” Owoeye said.

However, on 14 July, the Osun State Government called on the United Kingdom (UK) delegation, led by its Senior Political Advisor, Wale Adebajo, to consider sanctions and a visa ban against the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola; the APC’s governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji; Senator representing Osun East Senatorial District, Francis Fadahunsi, and the Director-General of the APC Campaign Council, Wole Oke.

Governor Adeleke, in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, urged the UK delegation to place a visa ban on the APC leaders for what he called promoting violence through cronies which resulted in recent killings and gun attacks in the state. The governor said that his call for sanctions and a visa ban followed an alleged fresh killing of an Accord Party (AP) member in Ijebu-Jesa.

On the contrary, the APC’s Director of Media and Information in the state, Kola Olabisi, accused Adeleke of being the real promoter of violence, saying that the UK should disregard his advocacy for sanctions against the opposition leaders. Olabisi accused Adeleke of misinforming the British government and said the development exposed the governor as a liar who has failed in office. “Why did the governor, who is desperate for re-election, fail to inform the visiting delegation of the British Government how some of his aides are now standing trial in an Abuja court over the killing of our chieftain and former Chairman of Irewole Local Council, Remi Abass, over a year ago?” Olabisi asked.

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Osun State Council, on June 26 condemned the rising wave of political violence in the state. The Council expressed concern over the increasing cases of killings, intimidation and destruction of property associated with political activities, warning that the trend could undermine the credibility of the electoral process if not urgently addressed.

In a statement signed by the Osun NUJ Chairman, Comrade Adeyemi Aboderin, and the Secretary, Comrade Olalekan Akindoju, the council called on security agencies to intensify efforts to prevent further violence by protecting lives and property, maintaining professionalism and impartiality, and ensuring that perpetrators of violence are brought to justice regardless of their political affiliations.

It also urged political parties, candidates and their supporters to commit themselves to peaceful campaigns and issue-based politics, while cautioning political leaders against making inflammatory statements capable of inciting violence. The council further appealed to residents of the state, particularly young people, not to allow themselves to be recruited as agents of violence, emphasising that their lives and future should not be sacrificed for political interests.

The Osun State Police Command which had been consistently accused by the Adeleke’s camp of bias in favour of APC swung into action following a growing public outcry, combing all nooks and crannies of the state to make arrests of suspects linked to the political unrest and recovered weapons, charms and other items. Many of the suspects were at different times paraded before pressmen at the Police Headquarters, Ring Road, Osogbo. The Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Gotan vowed to prosecute all culpable individuals and ensure that peace and security return to the state. He announced that investigations had been launched into the incidents and urged residents to go about their normal businesses, assuring all that measures had been put in place to ensure safety of life and property.

Other stakeholders in the state have been intervening, enjoining all parties and political actors to eschew violence and allow a peaceful, free and fair election on August 15. The state’s chapter of ALGON donated 90 units of operational vehicles to security agencies in the state. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) have at different times also organized stakeholders’ meetings in the state to commit all concerned to peace accord. The police themselves convened an inter-agency peace meeting in Osogbo on June 24, hosted by the Commissioner of Police. However, the two major political partied failed to attend. At the interactive session, Gotan stressed that the election must be “peaceful, credible and violence-free”.

The CP added that “All campaign activities, rallies, public engagements and political communications must strictly conform with the provisions of the Electoral Act and other relevant laws. No individual or political group is above the law. We must strongly discourage all forms of thuggery, gangsterism, and the recruitment or sponsorship of political thugs. Violence and intimidation have no place in a democratic society.”

To further contain violence and charge all to maintain peace before, during and after the election, the Inspector-General of police, Olatunji Disu, alongside his entourage of senior police officers, hit Osun on Friday 3rd of July. ‎During the visit, the IGP held strategic meetings with officers and men of the command, other security agencies, INEC, traditional rulers, political parties, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and other relevant stakeholders to review security arrangements and strengthen inter-agency collaboration.

Disu charged officers of the state command to remain professional, impartial, apolitical and courteous, and avoid all forms of corrupt practices in the course of discharging their duties. ‎He assured all residents of the Police Force’s readiness to provide adequate security before, during, and after the election, warning individuals or groups planning to disrupt the electoral process to desist, noting that the Nigeria Police Force, in collaboration with other security agencies, would deal decisively with any threat to public peace in accordance with the law.

The IGP urged the politicians to adhere strictly to the Electoral Act, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and play the electoral games by the rules, adding that he was in the state to see things by himself “having received the recent security concerns, particularly the killings, cult-related incidents, acts of thuggery and hooliganism recorded during the ongoing electioneering campaigns.”

He praised officers and men of the command for their professionalism, dedication, and commitment to duty as he assured them of his commitment to their welfare, urging them to remain vigilant, strengthen intelligence gathering, sustain inter-agency collaboration, and continue building public confidence through professional conduct.

Disu also visited the governor and assured him of the police’s readiness to provide adequate security before, during and after the election. He urged Adeleke to also act in same manner by allowing peace in the state. He registered his displeasure with the governor about the information given to him by the Commissioner of Police that the governor was keeping a notorious thug in the Government House, asking how he (the governor) would expect peace when he was also harbouring a criminal.

He used the opportunity to advise residents of the state against the use of unregistered vehicles, covered/defaced number plate, saying that whoever’s caught would be prosecuted accordingly.

With all the well-meaning efforts by key institutions in the state, residents had rested assured that reasons had prevailed and sanity would henceforth reign supreme until Wednesday July 15 when violence erupted again with two persons reportedly killed and several others injured following an attack on members of the APC by some political thugs in Osogbo. The attack took place at Owode-Igbonna area of the state capital late at night by thugs who used face masks to hide their identity.

It was gathered that the victims were holding meetings when the attackers arrived at the venue in a white-coloured Toyota Hiace bus, dressed in black uniforms. Victims of the attack were identified as Kazeem Akande, 70, and Lekan, who was killed at a separate scene in the Egbatedo area of Osogbo; both died from gunshot wounds. Others injured included a female APC flag bearer in Owode area, Kehinde Salaudeen, 60; Olalekan Mutiu; and a 13-year-old girl, Rodiyat Ariyo, among others.

APC Spokesman Omowaiye informed the press that remains of the two deceased members had been deposited at the morgue. He added that “We have seen the X-rays of those who sustained gunshot injuries, and the indications suggest the use of AK-47 rifles. We call on security agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice. We believe the people have rejected Governor Adeleke, and violence will not stop the APC from winning this poll.”

Reacting to the incident, Governor Adeleke called for calm, describing the attack as a suspected cult-related killing and dismissing allegations that the state government had any involvement.
In a statement issued by Olawale Rasheed, the governor said: “We received with concern reports of the suspected cult killing in Osogbo and call on security agencies to enforce the law by apprehending those responsible. The killing and the subsequent violence are condemnable. The incidents of cult violence in Osogbo must be curtailed immediately to avoid worsening the already delicate security situation following recent political violence in the state.”

PPRO Ojelabi also confirmed the incidents and said two suspects had been arrested in connection with one of the attacks, while arms and ammunition were recovered at another scene. He confirmed that one person was killed at the Egbatedo incident and several others injured. He added that some names mentioned by witnesses are already on the police watch list, and that investigations were ongoing.

With the disturbing trend of unending violence despite concerted efforts to ensure peace and security, observers are asking a pertinent: Will there be a peaceful election in Osun on August 15?