Tunde Adeleke, Osogbo
Barely five days to the Osun State governorship election, the First Lady of the state, Titilayo Adeleke, on Monday led a group of women in a peaceful protest against alleged intimidation and insecurity ahead of the August 15 poll.
The protesters, who converged in front of the Osun State Government House in Osogbo, marched through the Lameco area to the Osun State Police Command, where they presented their demands to the Commissioner of Police in charge of the election.
The protest was also attended by the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Ayo Awolowo, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Markets, Eniola Omotoyosi, wives of top government officials, among others.
Addressing the Police-team lead, Adeleke, demanded a free, fair and peaceful election, while calling on security agencies to invite some political actors in the state for questioning over alleged violence and threats ahead of the poll.
She said, “We are demanding for free and fair election in the forthcoming poll. We want peace, let there be peace, please invite Fadahunsi, Wole Oke and Kehinde Raji.
“Invite them for questioning to stop killing out husband and children . Make them sign undertaking.
“From what we heard, we learnt that they will start picking our leaders up this week.
“Last week Friday they pick up the Commissioner for Environment. He was brought here, stripe him naked, this is not good enough. They should leave our people alone.”
Responding to the protesters, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the election said he had been deployed to Osun State by the Inspector-General of Police to help stabilise the state and provide a secure environment for the August 15 election.
The CP said the police had been working to maintain relative peace in the state, expressing concern that protests involving rival political groups could escalate tensions if not properly managed.
“I have a mandate from the IG to come to the state to stabilise things, give an enabling environment for every political actor to exercise their franchise, and create public confidence for everyone to come out to vote on election day,” he said.
