The Osun State Police Command said it has arrested Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaye, and five others over alleged vote trading ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
Police said the arrests followed a raid on the SSG’s home at Oroki Estate in Osogbo on Wednesday. Officers said they recovered Permanent Voter Cards, a register with voters’ details, ₦4.8 million, a Dynabook laptop, photocopying machines, a printer, and voter registers for Wards 1 to 15 in Osogbo Local Government Area.
The other suspects were named as Abiodun Arowomole, also known as “Ashipa,” described by police as a wanted murder suspect, alongside Taiwo Akande, Lukman Adeyemo, Muftau Olaoye, and Musiliu Aderemi.
Police said investigations into alleged vote buying, criminal conspiracy, and harbouring a wanted suspect are ongoing. The command urged residents to remain calm and support efforts to ensure a peaceful, free, fair, and credible election.
Vanguard gathered that Igbalaye later reported himself to the police after learning about the raid.
The Osun State Government condemned the operation, calling it illegal. Information Commissioner Kolapo Alimi said ward officials were meeting at the residence while the SSG attended an INEC stakeholders’ forum. The government also claimed police raided the Commissioner for Energy’s home in Ikire a day earlier, damaging property, and called for intervention by top authorities over what it described as targeted actions.
The APC campaign council backed the operation, saying it confirmed its claims of planned vote buying and election manipulation.
“For months, the APC has consistently raised concerns over the activities of violent political elements operating in the state. We have repeatedly warned that Governor Ademola Adeleke and his co-travellers, having lost the confidence of the people, have resorted to intimidation, violence and other unlawful means in a bid to influence the forthcoming governorship election, even when the people of Osun have rejected them on account of their poor performance. This latest raid has vindicated our party.
“To this end, we commend the Nigeria Police Force for the professional operation and encourage the security agencies to sustain the momentum by conducting thorough investigations wherever credible intelligence points to the stockpiling of weapons or the harboring of criminal elements. No individual should be above the law”, he added.
