Osun State – Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has declared that the people of the state will not succumb to any form of external interference or intimidation as the August 15 governorship election draws near, following the brief detention of the Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaiye.
Igbalaiye was detained alongside five others by the state police command over alleged vote buying related offences, with officers recovering Permanent Voter Cards, cash sums and a voters’ register from his private residence in Osogbo.
The spokesperson for the Imole Campaign Council leading Adeleke’s re election bid, Pelumi Olajengbesi, announced Igbalaiye’s release from police custody on Thursday, sharing the update on his verified social media account.
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Although Adeleke did not directly address the detention in his public statement, he maintained that no amount of intimidation or harassment would deter the people of Osun from exercising their democratic rights ahead of the poll.
The incident adds to mounting tension ahead of the closely watched Osun governorship election, with the National Peace Committee having earlier flagged 15 local government areas in the state as high risk for election related violence.
The Osun State Police Command has not issued a detailed public statement on the specific allegations that led to Igbalaiye’s initial detention, though the matter is expected to remain a point of contention ahead of the August poll.
