OSOGBO: The First Lady of Osun State, Titilola Adeleke, on Monday led a group of women to the state police command in Osogbo to protest alleged voter intimidation ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The protesters, who marched to the police headquarters, called for a peaceful, free and credible election, while raising concerns over the alleged harassment and planned arrest of some political leaders in the state.
Adeleke was accompanied by the Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Ayobola Awolowo, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Market Affairs, Eniola Omotoso.
The group marched from Lameco through the West Bypass to the police command headquarters, where they submitted a formal petition to the Commissioner of Police in charge of election duties, CP Samuel Etaifo.
Speaking during the protest, Adeleke urged the police to ensure that voters and political actors were not intimidated before or during the election.
She alleged that some leaders of the Accord Party were being targeted for arrest by opposition elements, while also referring to the recent arrest of the state Commissioner for Environment.
According to her, the alleged treatment of the commissioner while in police custody was unacceptable. From what we heard, we learnt that they would start picking our leaders up this week. Last Friday, they picked up the Commissioner for Environment. He was brought here, stripped naked. This is not good enough. They should leave our people alone.”
The First Lady said the concerns raised by the protesters were intended to draw the attention of the police to the need to guarantee a peaceful atmosphere ahead of the August 15 poll.
Receiving the petition, CP Samuel Etaifo assured the protesters that the police command would work to provide a secure environment for the conduct of the election.
The commissioner said the security situation in Osun had improved since his deployment, but cautioned political actors and other stakeholders against actions capable of increasing tension.
Etaifo said the police could not allow protests or other activities to undermine the peace they were working to maintain across the state. If you notice, since I came, we have relative peace in the state. But the problem we have is that we cannot continue to tolerate what you have done today because it will not contribute to peace; it will cause tension again, he said.
The police commissioner explained that his deployment to Osun was based on a directive from the Inspector-General of Police to stabilise the state and create an environment where citizens could freely participate in the election.
According to Etaifo, the police have a responsibility to ensure that every eligible voter can exercise their franchise without fear or intimidation. I have the mandate of the Inspector-General of Police to come to the state and stabilise things, give an enabling environment for every political actor to exercise their franchise, to create public confidence for everyone to come out to vote on election day.
He assured the protesters that the issues contained in their petition would be reviewed and that the command would restrategise where necessary to address their concerns.
We are going to go back and strategies to attend to all your demands, Etaifo added.
The protest comes just days before the August 15, 2026, Osun governorship election, with political activities and security preparations intensifying across the state.
The latest development has further highlighted concerns over security, political tension and the need for all stakeholders to ensure that voters are able to participate freely in the electoral process.
With the election approaching, attention will remain focused on the Osun Police Command, political parties and other stakeholders as they work to prevent violence and ensure that the poll is conducted in a peaceful and credible atmosphere.
