Osun decides: Adeleke coasts to victory amid violence, BVAS failure, vote-buying allegations

People  of Osun State on Saturday cast their ballots to elect the next governor of the state.

OSMEK NEWS gathered that Governor Ademola Adeleke is coasting to victory as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, concludes the collation of results.

The election was largely a two-horse race between Adeleke, the candidate of the Accord Party, and Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The State Returning Officer, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, is currently announcing results from different polling units.

As of the time of filing this report, INEC had uploaded 95 per cent of the results on IReV, with Adeleke leading in 19 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11 LGs.

The poll recorded a significant voter turnout despite concerns over security, while pockets of violence, alleged voter intimidation, vote-buying and ballot-box snatching were reported in some parts of the state.

There were also complaints about the failure of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in several polling units, leading to delays in the commencement of voting.

BVAS failure delays voting

Voting started late in some polling units after BVAS devices reportedly malfunctioned.

A professor, Olayinka Ajala, was among the voters affected after the device failed to authenticate his identity at his polling unit.

Ajala, a voter at Unit 10, Ward 10, Community Primary School, Oke-Ola 2, Mayfair Roundabout, in Ife East Local Government Area, said the BVAS could neither recognise his face nor capture his thumbprint.

According to him, electoral officials made several attempts to authenticate him but were unsuccessful, preventing him from voting.

Despite the experience, Ajala described the exercise at his polling unit as peaceful, noting that there was no rancour among voters.

He added that the number of people affected by the authentication problem appeared relatively small compared with the total number of voters at the polling location.

Similarly, the Imole Campaign Council, TICC, raised concerns over alleged BVAS failures in several polling units across the state.

Pelumi Olajengbesi, spokesman for the campaign council, claimed in a statement that several of the affected local government areas were strongholds of the Accord Party.

Vote-buying allegations

Some voters in Ejigbo Local Government Area were captured in a viral video protesting an alleged vote-buying operation involving a political party.

The voters claimed they alerted security operatives to the alleged activity but accused the personnel of being reluctant to intervene.

The incident reportedly degenerated into a confrontation among voters.

OSMEK NEWS also gathered that allegations of vote-buying were recorded across the state, with the APC and Accord Party accused of offering voters between N10,000 and N20,000.

Some voters alleged that the practice began several days before the election, with party agents reportedly collecting the bank account details of voters ahead of the poll.

According to the allegations, the accounts were expected to be credited after voters cast their ballots.

Shooting sparks tension in Osogbo

Tension gripped parts of Osogbo on Saturday night following sporadic gunshots at the premises of Union Baptist Primary School, where the Ataoja D Ward 4 collation centre is located.

The shooting, reportedly involving security personnel, caused some residents to flee the area.

Although the immediate cause of the shooting was unclear, there were reports of attempts by suspected thugs to snatch ballot boxes.

A former Vice Chairman of the APC in Ede South Local Government was reportedly apprehended for allegedly attempting to snatch ballot boxes at a ward collation centre.

In another incident, a woman was reportedly arrested at an INEC facility in Ifelodun with ballot papers bearing thumb-printed votes but without the required INEC stamps.

A viral video on the internet  showed that the incident occurred after the original results had reportedly been collated and uploaded to the IReV portal.

Alleged intimidation of voters by APC senator

There were reported cases of alleged intimidation of voters by politicians at several polling units across the state.

The senator representing Osun East, Francis Fadahunsi, was captured in a video clip that circulated on social media, allegedly threatening voters at his polling unit.

A video showed Fadahunsi intimidating and threatening voters in the presence of a police officer.

Senator Fadahunsi

Similarly, an individual alleged to be an APC supporter was reportedly restrained by residents during the election.

The person was accused of carrying a gun and allegedly working with a former Osun State governor.

The incident reportedly occurred amid heightened tension in parts of the state, with residents vowing to resist any attempt by individuals or groups to disrupt the electoral process.

Security agencies arrest suspected thugs, imported voters

Security agencies arrested several persons allegedly involved in electoral offences and violence before and during the election.

Force spokesperson, Anietie Iniedu, told journalists during the election that security operatives carried out an operation at the residence of a political stakeholder, where hundreds of people were reportedly taken into custody.

“We have made arrests at a political stakeholder’s residence, where we located 300 unaccounted-for persons,” Iniedu said.

Security operatives also arrested a member of the Osun State House of Assembly representing Irewole-Isokan Constituency, Hon. Abiola Ibrahim, on Saturday morning.

He was allegedly found to have been camping more than 140 non-citizens in the state for participation in the election.

The alleged imported voters were reportedly found with newly issued Permanent Voter Cards, raising concerns over the integrity of the electoral process.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State, Sunday Bisi, was also arrested by operatives of the state police command.

The reason for his arrest was not immediately disclosed.

However, Governor Adeleke has called for the immediate release of the PDP chairman.

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