Osun election tension deepens as Adeleke’s aide alleges harassment of party supporters

Michael Olumide Alabi

A Senior Special Adviser to Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, Comrade Fumisho Babarinde, has accused leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of allegedly importing hoodlums from Lagos and Ondo states to foment violence ahead of the August 15 governorship election in Osun State.

Babarinde also alleged that members of the ruling Accord Party were being subjected to intimidation, harassment and politically motivated attacks, while expressing disappointment over what he described as the silence of the Presidency and the Inspector-General of Police despite the growing political tension.

The governor’s aide made the allegations on Thursday during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State.
According to him, opposition elements were deploying intimidation and violence to discourage supporters of Governor Adeleke from participating freely in the forthcoming governorship election.
“We are going to make the whole world know that in Osun, we are being intimidated and harassed by APC leaders in the state, and the Presidency is looking on. The Inspector-General of Police has not said anything up till this morning,” Babarinde said.

He alleged that the security situation in the state had deteriorated in recent weeks, claiming that politically motivated killings had occurred in several local government areas, including Irewole, Boripe, Oriade, Osogbo and Ilesa.

According to him, the alleged attacks were part of a broader strategy to instill fear among members and supporters of the ruling Accord Party.

“Well, as we all know, the last couple of weeks have been very tense. There have been killings that are politically motivated across the state, from Irewole Local Government to Boripe, to Oriade, to Osogbo, to Ilesa. We won’t engage the Osun APC in violence. They are the ones terrorizing us. They are bringing in hoodlums from Lagos and Ondo to come and cause a crisis here, but we won’t engage them because we have suffered a lot of collateral damage. We only pray that we survive,” he stated.

Babarinde further accused the Osun State Police Command of bias, alleging that security operatives had failed to act impartially in handling political incidents involving the Accord Party while allegedly overlooking actions by opposition members.

“The only area where we have issues is that, as of this morning, the police have been a bit biased. Some of the issues ongoing are against the Accord Party,” he alleged.

The governor’s aide specifically criticised the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, accusing him of failing to provide equal protection for all political actors in the state.

He alleged that the conduct of the police had emboldened acts of intimidation and harassment against members of the ruling party.

“Osun Police Command is biased. The police are supposed to be fair, but the Osun Police under Ibrahim Gotan is seeing to the maiming, killing and harassment of our people in Osun State. He has just two years left in service; he is going to retire one day, and history will not be kind to him for what he is doing. He should check himself,” Babarinde said.

He also claimed that the level of intimidation had become so severe that supporters could no longer openly display party symbols without fear of harassment.

“It has gotten to the point where people can no longer wear yellow caps or party insignia freely in the state without being harassed,” he alleged.

Babarinde further claimed that campaign billboards belonging to the party had been vandalised by political opponents seeking to create fear ahead of the election.

On the legal challenge seeking to prevent Governor Ademola Adeleke from participating in the governorship election, Babarinde alleged that the litigation was being financed by APC leaders determined to remove the governor from the ballot.

“It is the APC leaders in Osun who are desperate about not wanting Ademola Adeleke to be on the ballot. They don’t want any contest. They are the ones funding it. You know the way these things work,” he claimed.

Despite the allegations, the governor’s aide maintained that Governor Adeleke had consistently appealed to supporters to remain peaceful and avoid any act capable of disrupting the electoral process.

“The governor has appealed to our supporters to avoid violence under every circumstance because what some people want is a crisis that will disrupt the election,” he said.

Babarinde disclosed that the state government planned to formally present its complaints to the National Peace Committee during the signing of the peace accord involving political parties contesting the election.

According to him, documented cases of alleged intimidation, harassment and violence would be submitted to the committee for appropriate consideration.
“We are arranging a press conference; the civil society people have been involved, and all things have been documented. The Peace Committee will be here in the state today, and all these issues will be tabled before them so that whatever action they need to take will be done,” he stated.

He, however, assured residents that supporters of the Accord Party would not resort to violence despite what he described as repeated provocations.
“We will keep our cool. I can promise you that Osun people are not ready to engage anybody in violence or crisis,” Babarinde said.

He appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to discharge their responsibilities professionally by ensuring a peaceful, credible and violence-free election.

“What we are saying, in essence, is that elections should be free, fair and credible. Everybody should go back to his or her polling unit to vote peacefully, while those monitoring the process should do so professionally, and INEC should be proactive,” he added.

Babarinde nevertheless expressed confidence that, despite the prevailing political tension, residents of Osun State would come out peacefully to exercise their democratic rights on election day.

Editor’s Note: The APC, the Presidency, the Nigeria Police Force and other parties mentioned in the allegations had not publicly responded to the claims at the time of filing this report.