A group of Accord Party candidates for the 2027 National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections in Osun State on Sunday called on President Bola Tinubu to step in and stop what they see as police harassment of their leaders and members in the state.
Speaking to journalists on behalf of the Accord candidates, Bamidele Salam, who represents Ede North/Ede South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, said the President needs to act due to the rising number of police attacks on party members.
Salam also asked for the immediate release of Alaba Ibrahim Popoola, the party's House of Representatives candidate for Ijesa South Federal Constituency, and Mr Sodiq Olaniyan, a law student. He claimed Olaniyan was being held in a criminal cell over accusations of cyberstalking.
Describing Olaniyan's arrest, Salam said the law student had complained about the alleged illegal interference of an APC leader in the duties of the Independent National Electoral Commission during the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards.
“Instead of looking into the reported interference with INEC's work, the police chose to arrest the citizen who raised the issue. This is reckless, wrong, and a serious attack on civic duty.
“The police said Mr Popoola Alaba was arrested based on a petition from an unnamed person but did not reveal who that person is. This keeps Nigerians from judging the truth or possible political motives behind such claims,” he explained.
Salam also claimed that the senator for Osun East Senatorial District, Francis Fadahunsi, has been meeting with heads of security agencies in the state. He said, “Arrangements were reportedly made to start targeting leaders and members of the Accord with baseless claims and illegal detentions.”
He added, “We have reliable information that our senatorial candidate for Osun East, Hon. Ibukun Fadipe, and other party leaders, especially from the Ijesa area, have been marked for arrest using the same questionable tactics used against Mr Popoola Alaba. If this is true, then democracy in Osun State is in serious danger.
“We urge Mr President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to intervene in the troubling trend of police harassment, intimidation, and persecution of our leaders and members in Osun State as we approach the August 15 governorship election.”
In response, Fadahunsi’s media adviser, Sam Segun-Progress, dismissed the claims. He said the lawmaker's popularity at the grassroots level is causing worry among his political rivals.
“Fadahunsi’s support in the community has always scared the opposition during election times. Similar false claims were made back in 2014.
“Isn’t it strange that those who once defended Fadahunsi against such lies are now the ones making today’s false accusations?
“Fadahunsi is dedicated to democratic values and mobilizing voters, which is making his opponents anxious and push out lies in preparation for their coming defeat,” Segun-Progress stated.
PUNCH Online reports that the Osun State Police Command had earlier said Popoola was arrested based on a petition from July 4 claiming he was involved in illegal mining.
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