Ademola Adeleke, governor of Osun, has alleged that officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) are aiding suspected thugs of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to intimidate voters and disrupt elections in some polling units.
Speaking on Saturday shortly after casting his ballot in Ward 02, PU 009, in Ede, Adeleke said the intimidation is aimed at forcing people to flee polling areas and preventing them from exercising their civic rights.
Adeleke alleged that reports received from Modakeke and Obaagun were unsavoury.
“As I am voting right now, I have just received a call in Modakeke and Obaagun that the police are aiding them in tearing them so that people can run away. And people are resolute. They just want to perform their civic duty,” Adeleke said.
“It is not peaceful in Modakeke and, of course, in Obaagun. The police are aiding the APC to tear people so that they will not vote.
“The thugs took the ballot box and ran away. So we have already reported this to the security agencies. I hope they do something so that they will not turn Osun state into a war zone.”
He alleged that a police officer nicknamed ‘London’ had been deployed from Port Harcourt in Rivers state to disrupt the election in Ede.
“On privileged information, there is one police officer that they brought to come and do an attack job by the APC from Port Harcourt. They call his nickname London. He’s here in Ede hiding,” Adeleke said.
“His own job is to come and destroy Ede and scare people by shooting, so that they will not vote. So I’m calling the inspector general of police to take note. I’m calling all the security agencies to take note.
“They should redeploy him. We don’t want him in Osun. We don’t want violence in Osun.”
The incumbent governor explained that the results collation should follow laid-down processes from units to wards and LGAs.
“All we want is a free and fair election, so that people can perform their civic duty. That’s one. And two, the pattern of voting collation should be from unit to ward and to local government,” the candidate of Accord said.
“Not that they will take the local government collation straight to the state capital. That is not acceptable. That is a form of rigging.
“And I’m calling on the authority that the APC is trying to rig and have some fake ballot papers. I want Osun people to watch out for that too. We don’t accept that in Osun.”
