OSOGBO, Nigeria — Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has accused the state police command of failing to curb political violence after a teenager was killed in Ilobu, calling for the arrest and prosecution of those he said were responsible for the attack.
In a condolence message issued on Monday, June 22, 2026, by Olawale Rasheed, the governor’s spokesperson, Adeleke described the killing as “another bitter example of complicity of the state police command in the orchestrated political violence in parts of the state”.
The governor said the attack was “openly perpetrated by a known political thug of the Osun APC and carried out in an AMBO branded Siena bus”.
Adeleke condoled with the victim’s family and urged the police to arrest those identified in connection with the killing.
He specifically called on the Osun State Police Command to arrest Saheed Tanfeani, whom he accused of leading the operation.
“This killing is the worst example of police complicity. This re-confirms a pattern of police indulgence of Osun APC political thugs who move around towns with guns and regular gunshots in the air. It is alarming that a police command watches as political thugs invade, attack and harass residents and supporters of the Accord,” Adeleke was quoted as saying.
The governor’s statement did not include a response from the police command or the All Progressives Congress to the allegations.
Governor Criticises Police Deployment
Adeleke also criticised the police over what he described as protection given to APC council officials, saying such deployments undermined the rule of law and democratic governance.
He said his administration had repeatedly petitioned security authorities over threats to peace in the state.
“The Osun State Police Command is daily demonstrating reprehensible open bias and unacceptable partisan support for the Osun APC. There are even reports that some police officials accompany AMBO thugs in their daily operations. We have made sufficient representations to the Inspector General of Police and the Presidency,” he said.
“Our administration has filed several petitions to relevant security establishments on the impunity and the threats to peace and security of Osun state. We are again alerting the Presidency and the IGP that the police in Osun state have surrendered to political thugs and even providing support services to them.”
Adeleke said mobile police officers had been deployed to council secretariats to protect APC council chairmen whom he described as having been removed by the court.
“Presently, the Osun police command is providing protection to court sacked APC council chairmen who have just been re-sacked by the Federal High Court in a case they filed. Mobile policemen are deployed to council secretariats to protect court sacked, tenureless APC operatives, preventing duly elected PDP council chairmen and councillors from accessing the secretariats,” he said.
He described the deployment as an abuse of police authority and said it had created a dangerous political precedent.
“This is clearly an abuse of police power in service of illegality. The deployment of mobile policemen to protect those occupying council secretariats illegally is the lowest ebb in the current trampling on our democratic life. A dangerous precedent has been set that will be resisted by our people,” Adeleke said.
Appeal to Presidency and Police Leadership
The governor appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Inspector General of Police to intervene, warning that public confidence in lawful enforcement could be weakened if residents believed the police were not acting impartially.
“We alert Mr President that our people have been pushed to the wall. Failure of the police to enforce the law can force citizens to resort to self help. We must respect the rule of law, the electoral act and the constitution,” he said.
Adeleke said respect for the rule of law, the Electoral Act and the Nigerian Constitution was necessary to preserve democratic governance in the state.
