The Osun State Police Command has arrested the Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaye, and five other people over an alleged vote-buying scheme ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
Police said the arrests followed a Wednesday raid on Igbalaye’s residence in the Oroki Estate area of Osogbo, where officers recovered Permanent Voter Cards and a register containing voters’ details.
Other items seized include ₦4.8 million in cash, a Dynabook laptop, photocopying machines, a printer, and voter registers covering Wards 1 to 15 in Osogbo Local Government Area.
Also arrested at the scene were Abiodun Arowomole — identified by police as a wanted murder suspect — along with Taiwo Akande, Lukman Adeyemo, Muftau Olaoye, and Musiliu Aderemi.
Police said they are investigating allegations of vote buying, criminal conspiracy, and harbouring a wanted suspect, adding that the case has serious implications for the credibility of the election. The command urged residents to remain calm and law-abiding, and to report useful information.
Igbalaye reportedly turned himself in at the police command after learning of the raid.
The Osun government has condemned the operation as illegal. In a statement, Commissioner for Information Kolapo Alimi said ward officials were meeting on the premises at the time of the raid, while Igbalaye was attending an INEC stakeholders’ forum elsewhere. The government also alleged police had raided the Commissioner for Energy’s residence in Ikire a day earlier, damaging property, and called on traditional rulers, police leadership, the National Security Adviser, and President Bola Tinubu to intervene against what it described as targeted actions against Accord Party officials.
The APC campaign council, however, said the raid vindicated its repeated warnings about vote-buying plots by Governor Ademola Adeleke’s camp. Spokesperson Remi Omowaye commended police for the operation and urged further investigation wherever intelligence points to weapons stockpiling or harbouring of suspects.
READ ALSO:
- Adichie, Husband Ask Court To Dismiss Euracare’s Suit Against Son’s Inquest
- XEJet Hit As Ground Handlers Withdraw Services Over N300m Debt
- NUTGTWN Urges FG To Revive Textile Industry To Create Jobs, Diversify Economy
- “Tinubu is undergoing treatment in France” – Sowore challenges Presidency’s vacation claim
- Tinubu: Nigeria’s Creativity Can Become Major Export Industry
