•Assures Voters Of Police Protection
As preparations intensifies for th August 15 Osun State Governorship election, the inspector-general of police, IGP Olatunji Disu, has assured residents of the state of adequate police protection before, during and after the election, urging voters to come out en masse to exercise their franchise without fear.
Disu gave the assurance amid concerns over rising political violence in the state, with the Yiaga Africa identifying 13 local government areas as high-risk zones and reporting about 34 fatalities linked to violence so far.
Speaking on Friday, at a stakeholder engagement with civil society organisations on election security, the IGP said the Nigeria Police Force was deploying a robust security arrangement to protect voters, electoral personnel and other stakeholders across the state.
He disclosed that the police would secure more than 3,000 polling units, with at least four officers deployed to each polling location.
Speaking on the violence in the state, the IGP said “We have issues of cultism in Osun already. It became easier for different parties to attack each other using the existing animosity in the state.”
According to him, the police had to intervene when the level of violence escalated, leading to the decision to ask the commissioner of police in the state to step aside and allow another officer to oversee election security.
He added that an assistant inspector-general in charge of Police would soon move into the state to strengthen the security arrangements for the poll.
The IGP stressed that no political contest was worth the loss of a human life, saying, “No election is worthy of losing anyone as election will come and go.”
He appealed to political parties, candidates and their supporters to conduct themselves peacefully before, during and after the election.
Disu also called on the people of Osun State to come out in large numbers to vote, assuring them that the police would provide the necessary security for them to exercise their democratic rights.
Earlier, the executive director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo described the Osun governorship election as a “litmus test” for rebuilding public trust and confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process, noting that it is the major election preceding the 2027 general elections.
Itodo raised concerns over the security situation in the state, stating that 13 local government areas had become high-risk areas due to persistent violence and killings, with 34 fatalities recorded so far.
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He urged security agencies, particularly the police, to remain neutral and resist any attempt to use them to manipulate the election or undermine its credibility.
He identified Osogbo and Irewole as the two local government areas in the critical-risk category, while Iwo, Boripe, Ife Central and Ife East were classified among the high-risk areas requiring heightened security attention.
Itodo warned that the conduct of security agencies would be crucial to determining whether voters would have confidence in the electoral process.
He therefore urged the police and other security agencies to avoid actions capable of compromising the integrity of the election and to ensure that all political actors are treated fairly.
Hafsoh Isiaq is a graduate of Linguistics. An avid writer committed to creative, high-quality research and news reportage. She has considerable experience in writing and reporting across a variety of platforms including print and online.
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