The Osun State Police Command has crossed a dangerous line. The systematic invasion of the residences of the Secretary to the State Government and multiple commissioners is not policing. It is political intimidation dressed in uniform, and it must be condemned in the strongest terms.
Officers, allegedly led by the Deputy Commissioner for Operations and in association with Prince Adebayo Adeleke (known as Banik of the APC), are reportedly to have entered the residence of the Secretary to the State Government. Family members were allegedly taken to undisclosed locations while the official was attending an INEC stakeholders’ forum. Such actions raise concerns about the Command’s commitment to neutrality.
The earlier raid on the Commissioner for Energy’s residence in Ikire, complete with reports of ransacking and destruction of property, and the shadowing or invasion of other commissioners’ houses, form a clear pattern of targeted harassment.
These are not investigations grounded in evidence of crime. They are assaults on the institutions of state government. A police force that raids the homes of sitting government officials while political stakeholders meet under INEC’s auspices has ceased to be a guardian of the law. It has become an instrument of partisan warfare.
The detention of Accord members in CID cells without bail only deepens the suspicion that the Command is acting as an enforcer for the state APC rather than as a professional security agency. This is a betrayal of the constitutional duty of the Nigeria Police Force.
The people of Osun did not elect or appoint the police to settle political scores. They expect protection of lives and property, impartial enforcement of the law, and respect for democratic processes. Instead, they are witnessing gestapo-style operations that create fear, erode public trust, and raise the temperature of an already charged political climate.
The Command’s actions constitute an aggravated assault on democratic order and a direct threat to free and fair elections in the state.
Governor Ademola Adeleke and the state government have rightly urged citizens to remain calm and avoid taking the law into their own hands. That restraint must be matched by accountability from the police.
The Inspector-General of Police, the Police Service Commission, the National Security Adviser, and President Bola Tinubu cannot look away. An immediate, independent probe into these raids is non-negotiable.
We call for the immediate and unconditional release of Hon. Alaba Popoola Ibrahim (Alabama) and other detainees who remain in custody.
The invasion of the homes of senior Osun State Government officials is both alarming and condemnable. The fact that similar operations were allegedly carried out at the residences of several commissioners raises serious concerns about due process, professionalism and respect for democratic institutions.
Officers who participated in illegal invasions must be held to account. If Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Gotan cannot restore professionalism and impartiality to the Osun Command, he should be redeployed without delay. A tired or compromised leadership has no place in charge of public safety.
The Osun Police Command has brought disgrace upon itself. By turning its resources against elected and appointed officials rather than against genuine threats to security, it has become the problem rather than the solution. This campaign of repression must end now before it pushes the state past the boiling point and damages Nigeria’s democracy beyond easy repair.
Signed:
OSOGBO ACCORD MEDIA FORCE (OAMF)
