Tensions Rise in Osun as Accord Accuses Police of Targeting Party

• The Accord Party has accused the Osun State Police Command of targeting its leaders and supporters ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

• The party alleged that Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation Mayowa Adejoorin and about 60 members were arrested.

• Its campaign council called on the Inspector-General of Police to investigate the arrests and ensure police neutrality.

• The allegations come amid heightened political tensions and concerns over the conduct of security agencies ahead of the poll.

August 09, () — The Accord Party in Osun State has raised concerns over alleged police bias following the arrest of one of its prominent leaders and about 60 party members ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

The party’s Imole Campaign Council alleged that the Osun State Police Command, under Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Gotan, had embarked on a pattern of arrests and intimidation targeting its leaders and supporters, particularly in Ijesaland.

At a press conference in Osogbo on Saturday, the council’s spokesman, Pelumi Olajengbesi, said the state Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, Mayowa Adejoorin, was among those arrested.

Olajengbesi called on the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, to intervene, alleging that the arrests were politically motivated and could undermine the integrity of the election.

He described Adejoorin’s arrest as particularly concerning, alleging that the commissioner was taken into custody in a manner that resembled an abduction.

“We consider what happened to Hon Adejoorin nothing short of a bandit-line abduction carried out under the cover of police authority,” Olajengbesi said.

Party Accuses Police of Political Targeting in Ijesaland

He further alleged that several Accord leaders and supporters in Ijesaland had been arrested on what the party considered questionable grounds, preventing them from participating fully in campaign activities.

The campaign council also accused the police commissioner of disregarding the Inspector-General’s directive that police officers remain non-partisan during the electoral process.

In a separate statement issued by the council’s Chairman of Media and Publicity, Bamidele Sallam, the group alleged that Gotan had established a parallel police structure that was being used to target Accord members, alongside alleged attacks by supporters of the All Progressives Congress.

The allegations come as political tensions rise ahead of the August 15 governorship poll, with parties and candidates intensifying their campaigns across the state.

The Accord campaign council urged the police leadership to investigate the arrests and ensure that security agencies operate impartially throughout the electoral process.

The allegations against the police command and the APC were contained in statements by the Accord campaign council. No response from the Osun State Police Command or the APC was included in the statement made available for the report.