Osun State has been thrown into a fresh pre-election controversy as the Imole Campaign Council, which is driving the re-election bid of Governor Ademola Adeleke, alleged that the state police command had compiled a list of 46 politicians and party members to be arrested ahead of the August 15 governorship poll.
The campaign organisation, speaking in Osogbo, accused the police of collaborating with political opponents to intimidate opposition figures, particularly in Ikire, the headquarters of Irewole Local Government Area. It alleged that the list included a serving commissioner, prominent Accord Party members and other political leaders in the area.
Addressing journalists on Sunday, the Deputy Director-General of the campaign council, Kolapo Alimi, claimed that the Commissioner for Energy, Ademola Adeyemo, was among those allegedly targeted for arrest.
He said the alleged plan was designed to weaken the opposition and clear the way for the ruling camp ahead of the election.
Alimi also alleged that Taofeek Akinyemi, a chieftain of the Accord Party in Ikire, who reportedly suffered gunshot injuries after an attack by hoodlums, was arrested and detained after he went to the police to report the incident.
He further accused an operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps of working with opposition elements to facilitate the mass arrest of Accord Party members in Ikire, which he described as part of a broader plot to disrupt the party’s campaign activities.
“Even more alarming are the credible security reports reaching the leadership of the Imole Campaign Council regarding a coordinated ‘hit list’ drawn up by political opponents in collusion with compromised security operatives,” Alimi said.
“Several leaders of the Accord Party and prominent opposition figures have been penned down for systematic, unlawful arrests in the days leading up to the election. Specifically, we have confirmed information that the following individuals, 46 in number, have been marked for arbitrary arrest, harassment, and forcible transfer to Abuja to keep them out of circulation during the election,” he added.
Among those allegedly listed, according to him, are Ademola Adeyemo, Idris Idowu Jooda, Pastor Paul Akinola, Mukaila Yusuf, Dr Kazeem Atoba, Yesiru Olaniyi, Alhaji Olokeola, Wale Olunloye, Taye Adeyemo, Moshood Jolaiya, Lere Ogungbade, Kola Akinpelu, Tiri Adepoju and Pastor Femi Oladiran.
The campaign council urged the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to intervene immediately and direct the Osun State Police Command, the State Criminal Investigation Department and special squads from Abuja to halt what it described as arbitrary arrests and harassment of opposition leaders.
It also called on the Force Headquarters to review the deployment of security personnel to Osun ahead of the poll, insisting that only professional, neutral and impartial officers should be sent to the state to ensure a credible election.
But the Osun State Police Command rejected the allegations, insisting that its operations were not targeted at any individual, group or political party.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Ojelabi, said officers were carrying out routine raids of black spots and criminal hideouts across the state as part of efforts to maintain law and order before the election.
“We are raiding black spots and criminal hideouts every day to sanitise the environment for the forthcoming election, and this raid is not targeted at any individual, group of persons or political party,” Ojelabi said.
“It is targeted at criminal hideouts. We don’t have any list anywhere; the police do not formulate any list. We are only working with criminal records that we have and constantly raiding black spots and criminal hideouts.”
He said parents had been advised to warn their children against late-night movements and avoiding association with persons with criminal records, warning that such conduct could lead to unnecessary entanglement with security operatives.
Ojelabi also noted that the state government had promised to set up a joint task force to support election security, adding that such a move would have helped ensure that the police were not perceived to be acting alone.
“The government has also promised to set up a joint task force, and that would have helped a lot, so it won’t be the police alone. But since then, we have not seen anything from them. Maybe it will come up tomorrow, so it won’t appear that the police are acting alone or have some people in mind,” he said.
The clash between the Adeleke campaign and the police has further heightened political tension in Osun just days before the governorship election, with both sides trading accusations over the conduct of security agencies and the safety of opposition leaders.