Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has called for the immediate release of the state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Sunday Bisi, following his arrest in Ilesa on Saturday.
Adeleke made the demand in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, as voting continued in the Osun governorship election.
According to the governor, Bisi was arrested at his residence shortly after casting his vote and was taken to an undisclosed location.
Adeleke said the reason for the arrest had not been disclosed, describing it as part of what he alleged was an attempt to intimidate members and supporters of the PDP during the election.
The governor further alleged that the arrest was linked to a broader effort to restrict the monitoring of results during the collation process.
He accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of allegedly working with compromised security personnel to prevent PDP supporters from monitoring the collation of results.
Adeleke alleged that the move was aimed at creating room for the manipulation of results at collation centres and urged security agencies to remain neutral.
“This latest sweep on my supporters, I have authoritatively learnt, is part of a broader plan to give the APC unhindered access to change results at collation centres and upturn our wins at the poll,” he said.
The governor described any attempt to interfere with the collation of results as a threat to democracy and urged security agencies and other stakeholders to uphold the integrity of the electoral process.
Adeleke also demanded the release of Bisi and others he described as political prisoners across the state.
He maintained that voters should be allowed to freely exercise their franchise without intimidation or coercion.
