IGP launches offensive against cultists ahead of Osun governorship election
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Tunji Disu, has launched an offensive against cult groups operating in Osun State ahead of the governorship election, ordering security agencies to intensify efforts to flush out criminal elements behind the recent wave of violence.
Disu gave the directive on Friday during a stakeholders’ security meeting attended by the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), heads of security agencies and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), among others, at the Osun State Police Command headquarters.
Represented by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Adegoke Fayoade, the IGP directed the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, to work closely with other security agencies to identify cultists’ hideouts, gather intelligence and dismantle their operations before the election.
“We need to know their hideouts, get credible information about them, smoke them out and deal with them within the ambit of the law, regardless of where they belong. We don’t care whether they belong to any political party. They must not disturb the peace of the people or continue their reckless killings,” he said.
Disu described the recent violence as a spillover from the 2022 governorship election allegedly involving rival cult groups, warning that the cycle of retaliatory attacks must not be allowed to threaten the peaceful conduct of the forthcoming poll.
He announced sustained show-of-force operations across the state until election day, alongside the activation of nine strategic checkpoints to intercept arms and criminal elements.
Earlier, the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola, assured residents of a credible and hitch-free governorship election, disclosing that INEC had received about 75 per cent of the required non-sensitive election materials, which had already been deployed to designated locations.
