Osun LG poll: OSSIEC accuses police of detaining staff, sealing secretariat

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo

The Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) has accused the Nigeria Police of arresting its staff on election duty and sealing off the commission’s secretariat.

The chairman of the commission, Barr. Hashim Abioye, made the allegation in a video circulated on social media, stating that the arrested officials had committed no crime and violated no court order.

He assured voters still awaiting electoral officials that alternative materials had been deployed to the affected polling units.

While acknowledging challenges in the electoral process, Abioye maintained that the overall conduct of the election had been peaceful and fair.

“So far, so good, the reports have been positive. The conduct has been smooth and peaceful, contrary to the false alarm raised by the police. Everywhere is calm. However, in some areas where materials were supposed to have arrived for voters to cast their ballots, we received reports that police officers arrested our officials. I don’t know on whose orders this was carried out,” he said.

“I want to assure our people that for those still awaiting the arrival of our electoral officials, the delay was due to the police arresting some of them without cause or any court order. However, we have now deployed materials to those polling units because we have enough on the ground. As I speak, voting is ongoing in those places.”

Abioye also apologized to members of the media for issues related to accreditation tags and jackets, attributing the problem to the police sealing the commission’s office.

“We had enough materials, but the police sealed off our office, which was completely unwarranted. We will resolve these issues at the end of the day. Overall, the exercise has been peaceful, free, and fair, and we thank God for that,” he added.