Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
The Osun State Police Command has reportedly arrested Uthman Olalekan Anifowose, a media aide to Governor Ademola Adeleke, at his residence in Ede, Osun State, in the early hours of Friday, August 28, 2026, in a development that has raised fresh concerns over political tensions in the state.
According to reports by SaharaReporters and other local media outlets, four officers attached to the State Criminal Investigation Department, commonly known as the State CID, carried out the arrest. The officers reportedly arrived at Olalekan’s residence in Ede and took him into custody. However, as of the latest available reports, the police had not publicly stated why the governor’s aide was arrested or disclosed the specific allegation, if any, against him. The circumstances surrounding his detention therefore remain unclear.
The reported arrest comes less than two weeks after Osun State held a highly contested governorship election on August 15. Governor Adeleke, who contested for a second term under the Accord Party, was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission after defeating the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji. Adeleke secured 511,067 votes against Oyebamiji’s 444,815, giving the incumbent a winning margin of 66,252 votes.
The election itself followed months of intense political campaigning, accusations between rival parties and allegations concerning the conduct of security agencies. Adeleke won 19 of Osun’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11. Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress finished third with 17,180 votes. The result gave Adeleke another four-year mandate, but political disagreements surrounding the election have continued after the declaration.
The reported detention of Olalekan has consequently attracted attention because of his position within the governor’s media team and because it occurred so soon after the election. Reports citing sources familiar with the development said there was uncertainty within political and media circles about the basis of the arrest. One source quoted in connection with the development alleged that police operatives might also be monitoring other media aides associated with the governor.
Those claims, however, have not been independently confirmed, and the identities of any other aides allegedly being sought have not been officially released. It would therefore be premature to conclude that the arrest represents a wider police operation against members of the governor’s media team.
The Osun Police Command had also not publicly linked Olalekan’s arrest to the August 15 election at the time of the reports. The police had not announced whether he was being questioned over an alleged criminal offence, a political matter, a petition or another investigation. The absence of an official explanation means that several possible interpretations of the development remain unverified.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the Osun State Command, Abiodun Ojelabi, was reportedly contacted about the arrest but had not responded when the initial report was published. No formal police statement explaining the circumstances of Olalekan’s detention had emerged in the reports available at the time.
The development is nevertheless significant because relations between the Adeleke administration and the Osun Police Command have been strained on previous occasions. In January 2026, Governor Adeleke publicly appealed to the Inspector-General of Police to intervene over the detention of one of his aides, Abiodun Adegoke Apesin. The governor accused the state command of unlawful detention and alleged that his aides were being subjected to harassment. The police were urged by the governor to remain impartial and operate within the law.
The state government and the police have also disagreed over the arrest of political actors during the period leading to the governorship election. In July, the police arrested Osun Secretary to the State Government Teslim Igbalaiye and five others during a raid on his residence in Osogbo. Police said they recovered money, voter cards, a voter register and other items they believed could be connected to electoral offences. The state government and the governor’s campaign organisation rejected the allegations.
There were further controversies involving political candidates and supporters during the election campaign. Rival political organisations accused security agencies of targeting their members, while security authorities maintained that their operations were aimed at preventing violence and electoral offences rather than suppressing legitimate political activity.
Those earlier disputes provide important context for the latest reported arrest, but they do not establish that Olalekan’s detention is politically motivated. Any allegation of political persecution would require evidence, including an official explanation of the grounds for the arrest, the nature of any complaint against him and whether investigators have complied with Nigeria’s criminal justice procedures.
The timing is particularly notable because Osun remains politically sensitive following the election. Although voting and collation ended without the level of widespread violence feared before the poll, allegations concerning arrests, security operations and political intimidation were prominent throughout the campaign. The APC subsequently indicated that it would review the election result, while Oyebamiji said he respected the process but supported his party’s decision to examine the outcome.
Governor Adeleke, meanwhile, has called for reconciliation. After being declared the winner, he described the election as having produced “no victor, no vanquished” and invited his political opponents to work with his administration. He also thanked President Bola Tinubu for congratulating him after his victory.
For now, the central unanswered question is why Olalekan was arrested and what investigators intend to establish. Until the police provide an official explanation or the aide is brought before a court, claims about the reason for his detention remain unconfirmed.
The case will be closely watched because of its implications for relations between the state government and security agencies, as well as wider concerns about political freedom and the rule of law in Osun. The appropriate test will be whether the authorities clearly identify the legal basis for the arrest, respect Olalekan’s rights and provide due process. Any further arrests involving political actors would also need to be assessed against the same standard, with verified facts separated from partisan allegations.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments