Osun LG polls: OSSIEC chairman accuses police of sealing office, arresting officials

• The head of the electoral body blamed the issue on security forces shutting down OSSIEC’s main office, where the election materials were kept.

The chairman of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC), Hashim Abioye, has accused the police of detaining election officials and obstructing journalists from reporting on local government elections.

In a video posted on X, Abioye stated that multiple OSSIEC officials were apprehended while traveling to their designated polling units on Saturday.

He further claimed that security operatives locked the commission’s headquarters, stopping media personnel from obtaining accreditation tags and jackets required for election coverage.

Abioye, however, reassured voters that election materials had been sent to affected areas, emphasizing that there were adequate resources available to continue the election process.

Additionally, he extended an apology to journalists regarding accreditation problems, explaining that they arose because security forces had sealed the commission’s headquarters.

“So far so good, the reports have been positive and the conduct has been very smooth and peaceful as against the false alarm raised by the police. Everywhere is calm,” Abioye said.

“The only thing is that in some of the areas in which materials are supposed to have arrived for voters to cast their votes, we had reports of police arresting our officials.

“I don’t know on whose order because there is no court order that warranted the arrest of officers of our officials.

“As it is, we have deployed materials to those units because we have enough on the ground.

“For our people in the media community, I want to apologise for the inadequacy on the tags and the jackets because we have enough but the police sealed our office and that was not warranted at all.”

Abioye’s remarks follow the police’s call for the suspension of local government elections, citing an increased risk of violence and security concerns.

On Friday, police spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, stated that “credible intelligence” indicated that certain individuals were planning to disrupt the peace within Osun state.

Meanwhile, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, reassured stakeholders of an impartial electoral process, urging candidates to campaign peacefully and cautioning against violence or misinformation.