The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has alleged that security agencies are planning to arrest its National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, saying the ADC had received information that the former governor could be arrested before the August 15 poll.
Abdullahi urged the Federal Government and security agencies to exercise restraint and adhere to due process, warning that detaining a senior opposition official days before an election could heighten political tensions and fuel concerns about interference.
Aregbesola, who governed Osun from 2010 to 2018 and later served as Minister of Interior, is the ADC’s National Secretary and has been involved in the party’s preparations for the election. The party said his detention could disrupt his ability to coordinate its activities during the poll.
The allegation comes against the backdrop of Aregbesola’s long-running political rupture with the APC in Osun. The rift deepened during the 2022 governorship contest when he backed Moshood Adeoti against then-Governor Gboyega Oyetola in the APC primary.
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In February 2022, Aregbesola’s convoy was involved in a shooting incident in Osogbo. His camp described the incident as an attack, while the police said members of his security detail fired into the air. Oyetola subsequently lost the governorship election to Peoples Democratic Party candidate Ademola Adeleke.
The Osun APC suspended Aregbesola in October 2024 over alleged anti-party activities. He later joined the opposition realignment and emerged as the ADC’s interim National Secretary in July 2025.
The party did not identify the security agency allegedly planning Aregbesola’s arrest or provide publicly verifiable evidence of an arrest order. As of Thursday, August 13, 2026, no security agency had publicly confirmed that he was under an arrest directive.
The allegation comes amid heightened security concerns ahead of Saturday’s poll, which will see Adeleke, APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji and ADC candidate Najeem Salaam among the major contenders.
The ADC urged security agencies to remain impartial and allow all participating parties to conduct legitimate election activities, stressing that the authorities’ actions before, during and after the poll would be closely scrutinized.