The arrest of 146 suspected electoral mercenaries and a serving member of the Osun State House of Assembly on the eve of the 2026 governorship election has taken a new turn, with the State Police Command directing inquiries about the case to an Intelligence Rapid Squad (IRS) deployed from Abuja.
The suspects and Hon. Abiola Ibrahim Inaolaji, who represents the Irewole/Isokan State Constituency, were arrested on Friday night during an operation at the lawmaker’s residence in Ikire, according to the police.
More than 200 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were reportedly recovered during the operation, but the police have yet to disclose who the cards belonged to, the constituencies involved or how they allegedly came into the possession of those arrested.
Days after the election, the whereabouts and legal status of the 146 suspects remain undisclosed.
Responding to questions on where the suspects were taken and what would happen to them, the Osun State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, told LEADERSHIP that the IRS deployed to the state for the election conducted the operation.
According to Ojelabi, the Abuja-based squad is therefore in the best position to provide information on the suspects’ whereabouts and the next action in the case.
The development leaves the Abuja IRS as the police unit to provide details on an operation that resulted in one of the largest reported pre-election arrests in the state.
The police have described the 146 persons as suspected electoral mercenaries but have not publicly disclosed the specific election-related criminal activities they allegedly committed, planned or were suspected of facilitating.
The command has also not stated whether any of the suspects has been formally charged, released, transferred or remains in custody.
The case involving Inaolaji is similarly without a publicly disclosed charge.
Although the lawmaker was arrested in the same operation, the police have not stated the specific allegation against him, disclosed evidence linking him to the other suspects or clarified whether he is being investigated separately or as part of the same case.
His current whereabouts and legal status have also not been made public.
The reported recovery of more than 200 PVCs adds another unresolved element to the case. The police have not disclosed whether the cards are being treated as evidence, whether their owners have been identified or whether investigators have established a connection between the cards and the alleged election-related offences.
Before the election, the Commissioner of Police deployed to Osun, CP Samuel Etaifo, had warned that anyone arrested for criminal activities connected to the election would be required to answer for such offences.
He also stated that persons arrested over election-related criminal activities would answer for their actions in Abuja.
That statement provides the police’s stated basis for the involvement of the Abuja-based IRS in the case.
Meanwhile, the two leading political parties have appealed to the Nigeria Police Force to release their members held in connection with the concluded election.
With the election over, the police have yet to publicly disclose the outcome of the arrests, the legal status of the 146 suspects, the allegation against Inaolaji or the status of the more than 200 recovered PVCs.
For now, the Osun Police Command has directed inquiries on the arrests to the Abuja-based IRS, leaving the next step in the case with the squad that conducted the operation.
