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Osun State‘s first lady, Titilola Adeleke, on Monday led a protest by women against alleged indiscriminate arrests and violence ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
Adeleke was joined by traders, artisans and other women’s groups as the demonstrators marched from the Osogbo-Ilobu Road to the road leading to the Osun State Police Command along the West Bypass.
The State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Ayobola Awolowo, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Market Affairs, Eniola Omotosho, were among those who attended the protest.
The demonstrators carried placards with inscriptions including “Election is not war,” “Stop indiscriminate arrest of our husbands,” “We want a free and fair election,” and “Police must be neutral.”
They were stopped from reaching the main entrance of the police command but were later received by the commissioner of police overseeing election security, Samuel Etaifo.
Speaking on behalf of the demonstrators, Adeleke said the women were demanding a peaceful and credible election and urged the police to invite some APC chieftains for questioning over alleged violence in the state.
She also alleged that some political leaders and government officials had been subjected to arbitrary arrests and mistreatment ahead of the election.
Adeleke specifically referred to the reported arrest of the commissioner for environment, alleging that he was brought to the police command and stripped naked.
She urged the police to protect residents and prevent further arrests of political leaders and supporters.
“We are demanding a free and fair election in the forthcoming poll. We want peace; let there be peace. Invite APC chieftains for questioning. They should stop killing our husbands and children. Make them sign an undertaking. From what we heard, we learnt that they will start picking our leaders up this week.
“Last Friday, they picked up the commissioner for environment. He was brought here, stripped naked. This is not good enough. They should leave our people alone,” she said.
The governor’s wife subsequently submitted a letter outlining the demonstrators’ demands to the police commissioner.
Responding, Etaifo said the police had been working to reduce political tension in the state since his deployment and would review the demonstrators’ concerns.
He, however, cautioned the women against demonstrations that could further heighten tension, saying rival political groups could clash if allowed to stage competing protests.
Etaifo said the Inspector-General of Police had deployed him to Osun ahead of the election to help stabilise the state, provide a secure environment for political activities and strengthen public confidence in the electoral process.
He said the police were reviewing their strategy to address the demonstrators’ concerns while maintaining peace ahead of the poll.
“I have been here for the past two weeks. The IG was here because of the heightened tension in the state. For the first time in history, the IG directed the CP election to come three weeks to the election.
“If you notice, since I came, we have relative peace in the state, but the problem we have is that we cannot continue to tolerate what you have done today because it will not contribute to peace; it will cause tension again. Let us assume that you come out now and the other party comes out, then both of you meet; what will happen?” Etaifo said.
He added, “We are going back and restrategising to attend to all your demands. Why I am discussing with you is because we don’t want tension before the election; we want peace. We cannot conduct an election in an insecure environment.
“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.”
The commissioner warned that the police would arrest and prosecute anyone found attempting to manipulate or disrupt the election, adding that offenders could be transferred to Abuja for further action.
He commended the women for conducting a peaceful demonstration but urged them to return home to prevent any incident.
Etaifo said police personnel would escort the demonstrators back to the point where their march began.
“If you are a manipulator of any election, that is even the worst. The IG and Nigeria will not forgive you. I will arrest you and take you to Abuja because this election is a federal election; we must get it right,” he said.
“I want to applaud you for this protest being peaceful, but I want to implore you to go back so that nothing will happen to you. I will assign my men to escort you back to where you started the protest from,” he said.
The Osun governorship election is scheduled for August 15, with security agencies under pressure to ensure a peaceful and credible poll.
