The wife of Osun State Governor, Titilola Adeleke, led a group of women in a protest on Monday in Osogbo, alleging that a commissioner was stripped naked while in custody, as tensions escalate ahead of Saturday's governorship election.
Protest Over Alleged Arrests and Violence
The protest, which saw women march from Osogbo-Ilobu Road towards the Osun State Police Command, was aimed at condemning what they described as targeted arrests and violence in the lead-up to the election. Carrying placards with messages like "Election is not war" and "Stop indiscriminate arrest of our husbands," the demonstrators were stopped just short of the police command's entrance.
At the centre of their complaint was a disturbing claim involving the state's Commissioner for Environment. According to Adeleke, the commissioner was picked up days earlier and, once in custody, stripped naked. "Last Friday, they picked up the commissioner for environment. He was brought here and stripped naked. This is not good enough. They should leave our people alone," she said, without specifying who carried out the act.
Demands for APC Chieftains to Face Questioning
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Adeleke called on police to summon senior figures from the All Progressives Congress (APC) for questioning over what she described as rising violence targeting people connected to the ruling party in the state. "Invite APC chieftains for questioning. They should stop killing our husbands and children. Make them sign an undertaking," she said.
The women were eventually received by Samuel Etaifo, the police commissioner overseeing election matters in the state, who accepted a letter outlining their demands. Etaifo said his team had been working to calm tensions since arriving weeks earlier under a direct mandate from the Inspector General of Police, crediting that effort with what he described as a period of relative peace in the run-up to the vote.
Police Warn Against Demonstrations Near Election Day
Etaifo pushed back gently on the protest itself, warning that public demonstrations so close to election day carried their own risk of triggering fresh unrest if rival groups ended up crossing paths. "Let us assume that you come out now and the other party comes out, then both of you meet, what will happen?" he asked.
He also issued a broader warning aimed at anyone planning to interfere with Saturday's vote, saying election manipulation would not be tolerated. "If you are a manipulator of any election, that is even the worst. I will arrest you and take you to Abuja because this election is a federal election; we must get it right," he said.
Protest Disperses Peacefully
Etaifo thanked the women for keeping the protest peaceful but asked them to disperse, assigning officers to escort them back to where the march began. The protest comes amid heightened political tensions in Osun State, with the governorship election scheduled for Saturday, and both major parties trading accusations of violence and intimidation.
