It’s all eyes on Osun this Saturday — and the police are leaving nothing to chance. From drones in the sky to boots on every street, Osogbo is on lockdown.

So, here’s the gist. Ahead of Saturday’s Osun State governorship election, the Nigeria Police Force has announced a massive security clampdown across the state.

Force PRO, CSP Anietie Iniedu, told journalists in Osogbo on Thursday that no fewer than 30 Commissioners of Police will be on duty — that’s one CP per Local Government Area. The whole operation will be coordinated by a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, reports cbinews.tv.

And it’s not just top brass. According to the police:

* Over 15,000 operatives have been mobilised. Deployment started three weeks ago.

* A police helicopter and drone unit have already landed in Osogbo for aerial surveillance.

* Every one of Osun’s 30 LGAs gets a full unit of Mobile Police — about 60 heavily armed officers per LGA.

* Two extra MOPOL units are guarding the INEC headquarters in Osogbo.

* Each LGA will also have a Deputy Commissioner of Police and an Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of MOPOL operations.

“We will be locking down the state. We will not be allowing any vehicular movement apart from those on essential duty, security duties and those going to cast their franchise,” Iniedu said.

From midnight on Saturday, soldiers will cordon off all border roads leading into Osun. Only essential workers and voters will be allowed to move. Mobile courts are also on standby to try electoral offenders, and parents have been warned to keep their wards away from vote-buying, ballot snatching and intimidation.

The police say they’ve already mopped up 34 illegal firearms.

What’s the context?

This is classic Osun — one of Nigeria’s most keenly contested off-cycle governorship elections. Osun, with its 30 LGAs and over 1.9 million registered voters as of the 2022 poll, has swung between the progressives and the Adeleke political dynasty since 1999.

In 2022, Ademola Adeleke won on the PDP platform, unseating incumbent Gboyega Oyetola. This time, he’s listed as leading the pack for the Accord Party, alongside Bola Oyebamiji of the All-Progressives Alliance and Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress, among 14 parties that signed the National Peace Committee peace accord on July 30 in Osogbo, chaired by Bishop Matthew Kukah.

INEC says non-sensitive materials have already been deployed to LGAs, while sensitive materials will leave the CBN vaults today for RAC centres.

The other side of the story:

Despite the heavy security, vote-buying claims are already flying. Traders at Oja Oke, Igbona and Alekuwodo markets in Osogbo told cbinews.tv correspondents they received N10,000 to N15,000 from party canvassers this week, with promises of more on Election Day.

The APC has denied involvement. In a separate development, the Nigerian Navy reportedly arrested about 12 suspected hoodlums in Ifewara travelling in an APC-branded vehicle — a video of the incident is now circulating online.

INEC is pleading for peace and urging parties to honour the peace accord.

It’s tense, it’s tight, and all roads lead to Saturday.

Source: Nigeria Police Force briefing in Osogbo, as reported for cbinews.tv

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