The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has raised the alarm over an alleged plan to arrest its National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, ahead of Saturday’s Osun State governorship election.
The party said it received credible reports of the alleged arrest plan, warning that any attempt to detain Aregbesola on the eve of the election could be aimed at preventing him from coordinating the party’s activities during the poll.
In a statement signed on Wednesday, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the party could not dismiss the reports against the backdrop of what it described as a growing pattern of intimidation, harassment and alleged misuse of state institutions against opposition parties.
Abdullahi noted that Aregbesola, a former governor of Osun State and former Minister of the Federal Republic, currently serves as the National Secretary of the opposition party and is expected to play a key role in coordinating its activities during the election.
He said if any security agency had a lawful reason to invite Aregbesola, it should follow established legal procedures, rather than resort to an arrest at a politically sensitive period.
According to the party, arresting Aregbesola on the eve of an election in which the ADC is participating would raise serious concerns that the action was intended to prevent him from leading and coordinating the party’s election activities.
The ADC consequently put the Federal Government and security agencies on notice, saying Nigerians would be closely monitoring developments in Osun State before, during and after the election.
The party said the conduct of the authorities would be judged not by explanations offered after the election but by the actions taken in the period leading up to the poll.
It also warned the APC-led Federal Government against taking any action that could heighten political tension or plunge Osun State into what it described as a needless crisis.
The ADC urged the government to uphold democratic principles and ensure that all political parties and their leaders are allowed to participate freely in the electoral process ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.