Osun 2026: Army Warns Troops Against Bias, Harassment

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OSOGBO – The Nigerian Army has warned troops deployed to Osun State for the August 15th governorship election against bias, harassment and interference with voters.

The army directed them to remain professional and strictly adhere to the Code of Conduct for Election Duty.

The General Officer Com­manding (GOC), 2 Division, Nige­rian Army, Major General Auwa­lu Mahmuda, gave the warning on Friday while addressing troops deployed to support the Ni­geria Police Force (NPF) during the election at the Engineer Con­struction Command (ECC), Ede, Osun State.

Mahmuda said the deploy­ment, code-named ‘Operation Safe Conduct’, was part of the Army’s constitutional responsi­bility of providing aid to civil au­thorities, stressing that the police remained the lead agency for the conduct of elections in Nigeria.

He directed the troops to pro­vide outer-cordon security and respond appropriately to security threats when called upon, warn­ing them to stay away from poll­ing units and avoid actions that could compromise the integrity of the electoral process.

The GOC said the sensitive na­ture of the assignment required the troops to demonstrate the highest level of professional­ism, discipline, and impartiality throughout the election period.

“The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shai­bu, expects nothing short of pro­fessional conduct by the troops in support of the Nigeria Police Force,” he said.