OSUN 2026: Vote-Buying, Journalists Intimidation Raise Concerns | ClipTV Online

In recent times, the Civic Space Shrinking has been taking the center of stage. Journalists repression, intimidation by state and non-state actors, and the reports from the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) 2025 status result has further enlightened citizens on the importance of being alert and understanding their human rights. The ongoing Osun State Governorship election has raised another concern in the Civic Space.

Reporting on the current state of the Osun State gubernatorial election, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), under its Media in National Election (MiNE) project has tendered ongoing situation report.

The report indicates that voting has remained largely peaceful as of midday. However, fresh allegations of vote-buying and incidents involving intimidation of journalists, polling agents and observers have emerged across parts of the state.

Reports from Iwo indicated that a voter alleged that supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were offering ₦20,000 to voters on the queue at Isale Oba 2.

Similarly, an unverified report from Ilesa East alleged that APC and Accord were offering as much as ₦50,000 per voter at a polling unit within the Correspondence School area.

Meanwhile, voters in parts of Boluwaduro and Ola-Oluwa were reportedly heard openly discussing alleged payments ahead of voting.

Beyond the allegations of inducement, concerns have also emerged over the safety and freedom of journalists and election observers covering the exercise.

In Irewole, a reporter was reportedly forced to delete photographs taken during the voting process, while a polling agent was allegedly assaulted and had his mobile phone seized.

Similar challenges were reported in Ife Central and Ilesa East, where observers were reportedly confronted over attempts to take photographs at polling units.

Despite these incidents, the overall voting process was reported to be largely peaceful, the report indicated.

However, the reported cases of alleged vote-buying and interference with journalists, polling agents and observers underscore the need for heightened vigilance by election officials, security agencies and accredited observers as voting continues.

Additionally, the incumbent Governor, Ademola Adeleke, reportedly has authoritative information about a Police officer nicknamed ‘London’ who has been intimidating voters. Adeleke then called on the Inspector General of Police, IGP Disu to note the report.

Another report states that “The Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has won his polling unit in Ede,” adding that he won with 421 votes while the opposition, APC, had 29 votes.

So far, of the 3,763 to be submitted, 2,463 have been successfully loaded, covering 65.45% of the total results uploaded to the INEC Portal.

The Osun State election highlight challenges Nigeria continue to encounter during political elections.