Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has criticized the reported arrest of Sunday Bisi, the state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, and has called for his immediate release.
Adeleke, in a message uploaded on his official X account on Saturday, claimed Bisi was arrested at his residence in Ilesa shortly after voting in the ongoing Osun governorship race.
The governor described the arrest as an abuse of law enforcement and an attack on the democratic process.
“Information reaching me indicates that Bisi was accosted in his home in Ilesa shortly after he returned after voting and whisked away to a yet-to-be-known location.
“Up till this moment, no one has been availed the reason for his arrest, which indicates that the APC is working in cohort with compromised security agents to keep people away from monitoring results at the various collation centers,” Adeleke said.
Adeleke also claimed that the arrest was part of a larger attempt to disrupt the results collation process, although he provided no proof to back up his assertion.
“This latest sweep on my supporters, I have authoritatively learned, is part of a broader plan to give the APC unhindered access to change results at collation centers and upturn our wins at the poll.
“This is the biggest assault on democracy, and I urge everyone involved in this desperate attempt to upturn the will of our people through the use of state institutions,” he said.
He called for Bisi’s immediate release, describing the arrest as political and also demanding the release of what he referred to as other “political prisoners” across the state.
“In that regard, I am calling for the immediate release of Hon. Bisi because his arrest is nothing but political and other political prisoners across Osun State,” Adeleke said.
He added, “Election should be about the people freely giving their mandates to the person of their choice without threat or force.”
At the time of the statement, the Osun governor said the whereabouts of the PDP chairman were unknown and that no reason had been given for his arrest.
At the time of filing this report, no security operatives have so far come forward to claim responsibility for the alleged arrest as of press time.
