Osun First Lady Protests Alleged Intimidation Ahead Of Saturday Election

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 intimidation of voters and demand a peaceful and credible governorship election on August 15.

Adeleke, accompanied by the Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Ayobola Awolowo, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Market Affairs, Eniola Omotoso, marched from Lameco through the West Bypass to the police headquarters.

The protesters submitted a petition to the Commissioner of Police overseeing election duties in the state, CP Samuel Etaifo.

Speaking during the protest, Adeleke alleged that opposition elements were planning to target some political leaders for arrest ahead of the election.

She specifically raised concerns over the reported arrest of the Commissioner for Environment the previous Friday, alleging that he was subjected to degrading treatment while in police custody.

“From what we heard, we learnt that they will 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,” Adeleke said.

She called on the police and other security agencies to ensure that residents were allowed to vote without intimidation, harassment or undue interference.

Receiving the petition, Etaifo assured the protesters that the police would work to provide a peaceful environment for the election.

He, however, expressed concern that the protest itself could heighten political tension in 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,” the police commissioner said.

Etaifo said he was deployed to Osun on the directive of the Inspector-General of Police to stabilise the state and create an environment where all political actors could freely participate in the electoral process.

“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 said.

The commissioner assured the protesters that the command would examine the issues raised in their petition and review its strategy ahead of the election. “We are going to go back and restrategise to attend to all your demands,” he added.

The protest comes less than a week before the August 15 governorship election, with political parties and stakeholders intensifying campaigns and raising concerns over security and the conduct of the poll.