Osun First Lady Leads Protest Over Alleged Voter Intimidation

The First Lady of Osun State, Mrs Titilola Adeleke, on Monday led a group of women to the state police command headquarters in Osogbo to protest alleged voter intimidation and demand a credible governorship election on 15 August. Adeleke was accompanied by the Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Mrs Ayobola Awolowo, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Market Affairs, Mrs Eniola Omotoso, as the group marched from Lameco through the West Bypass to the police headquarters.

The protesters submitted a letter of protest to the Police Commissioner in charge of election duties, CP Samuel Etaifo. Addressing the officer, Adeleke demanded an election free from voter intimidation, alleging that some leaders of the Accord Party were being targeted for arrest by opposition elements.

She also referenced the reported arrest of the Commissioner for Environment the previous Friday, claiming he was subjected to degrading treatment while in police custody. Adeleke said: “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.”

Receiving the petition, CP Etaifo assured the protesters that police would maintain a peaceful atmosphere throughout the election. He noted that security in the state had improved significantly since his deployment, while urging political actors to avoid actions that could create tension. He said: “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.”

Etaifo explained that he was deployed to Osun State on the directive of the Inspector-General of Police to stabilise the situation and ensure a fair environment for all political actors. He said: “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.”

The police commissioner assured the protesters that their demands would be reviewed and addressed appropriately, adding: “We are going to go back and restrategise to attend to all your demands.”

Do you think this protest will influence how security is handled ahead of the Osun governorship election?