The Osun State First Lady, Titilola Adeleke, on Monday led a group of women in a protest against what they described as “indiscriminate arrest and violence” ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
The protesters, drawn from different groups of traders and artisans across the state, on Monday, August 10, marched from the Osogbo-Ilobu Road towards the Osun State Police Command along the West Bypass.
The State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Ayobola Awolowo, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Market Affairs, Eniola Omotosho, were among those who joined the protest.
Carrying placards with messages including “Election is not war,” “Stop indiscriminate arrest of our husbands,” “We want a free and fair election” and “Police must be neutral,” the women called for a peaceful and credible election.
The protesters were stopped from reaching the main entrance of the police command. They were instead received by the Commissioner of Police in charge of the election, Samuel Etaifo, who assured them that their concerns would be considered.
Speaking for the protesters, Adeleke said the women came out to demand peace and a free and fair election. She also called on the police to invite some prominent All Progressives Congress chieftains for questioning over alleged violence in the state.
“We are demanding a free and fair election in the forthcoming poll. We want peace; let there be peace. Invite APC chieftains for questioning.
“They should stop killing our husbands and children. Make them sign an undertaking. From what we heard, we learnt that they will start picking our leaders up this week.
“Last Friday, they picked up the Commissioner for Environment. He was brought here, stripped naked. This is not good enough. They should leave our people alone.”
Adeleke later handed a letter containing the protesters’ demands to Etaifo.
The police commissioner said the command had been working to reduce tension in Osun since his arrival but warned that protests involving rival political groups could create further tension.
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“I have been here for the past two weeks. The IG was here because of the heightened tension in the state. For the first time in history, the IG directed the CP election to come three weeks to the election.
“If you notice, since I came, we have relative peace in the state, but the problem we have is that we cannot continue to tolerate what you have done today because it will not contribute to peace; it will cause tension again.
“Let us assume that you come out now and the other party comes out, then both of you meet; what will happen?” Etaifo said.
He said the police would review the protesters’ demands while stressing that maintaining peace was essential to the conduct of the election.
“We are going back and restrategising to attend to all your demands. Why I am discussing with you is because we don’t want tension before the election; we want peace. We cannot conduct an election in an insecure environment.
“I have a mandate from the IG to come to the state to stabilise things, give an enabling environment for every political actor to exercise their franchise, and create public confidence for everyone to come out to vote on election day.”
Etaifo also warned against attempts to manipulate or disrupt the election, saying the police would arrest anyone found violating the law.
“If you are a manipulator of any election, that is even the worst. The IG and Nigeria will not forgive you. I will arrest you and take you to Abuja because this election is a federal election; we must get it right,” he said.
The commissioner commended the women for keeping the demonstration peaceful but advised them to return home to avoid any confrontation or incident.
“I want to applaud you for this protest being peaceful, but I want to implore you to go back so that nothing will happen to you. I will assign my men to escort you back to where you started the protest from,” he said.