By Akin Osinwo

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, the winner of Saturday’s governorship election, after he secured the highest number of votes across the state.

The State Returning Officer for the election and Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, announced the final results at about 7:24am on Sunday.

Adeleke, who contested the election on the platform of the Accord, polled 511,067 votes to defeat the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Oyebamiji, who garnered 444,815 votes.

With the victory, the incumbent governor has secured another term in office.

Adeleke won in 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji prevailed in 11 LGAs.

The governor recorded victories in Ede North, Ede South, Ejigbo, Iwo, Egbedore, Ife North, Ife East, Ife Central, Oriade, Ifelodun, Orolu, Ayedaade, Ayedire, Odo Otin, Boluwaduro, Ilesa West, Ifedayo, Osogbo and one other local government area.

Oyebamiji, on the other hand, secured victory in Irewole, Isokan, Olorunda, Atakumosa East, Atakumosa West, Ilesa East, Boripe, Irepodun and Obokun, among others.

Giving the final figures, Ogunwole said, “Accredited voters, 1010684, total votes received by political parties, A, 511067, AA, 2308, AAC, 1458, ADC, 17180, ADP, 2946, APC, 444815, APGA, 1475, APM, 234, APP, 114, BP, 111, NNPP, 118, PRP, 83, SDP, 155, YPP, 534, ZLP, 2482, total valid votes, 985079, rejected votes, 207, total vote cast, 1,005,800.”

Following the endorsement of the results by agents representing the participating political parties, the Returning Officer formally declared Adeleke the winner.

“That Ademola Nurudeen-Jackson Adeleke having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declare the winner of the August 15 Governorship election and returned elected,” Ogunwole said.

The African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salaam, finished third in the election.

The result brings to a close the keenly contested governorship poll, with Adeleke retaining the governorship after defeating the APC challenger across a majority of the state’s local government areas.

By Mohammadu Ahmad

At least four soldiers are feared dead following an attack by suspected Lakurawa terrorists in Kebbe, Kebbe Local Government Area of Sokoto State, on Friday.

The attackers, reportedly numbering more than 300, stormed the town on motorcycles and engaged troops in a fierce gun battle before allegedly attacking shops, vehicles and a hospital.

The heavily armed group was said to have arrived in Kebbe at about 10am, prompting soldiers deployed at a military base on the outskirts of the town to engage them.

A security expert in the state, Bashar Altine, who confirmed the incident, said four soldiers were feared to have died during the confrontation.

However, the reported casualty figure could not be independently verified as of the time of filing this report.

The spokesman for the Sokoto State Police Command, Ahmed Rufai, also confirmed that an attack occurred but said the command was still working to establish the details.

Rufai said he could not confirm reports of casualties, including the alleged deaths of the four soldiers.

Attempts to obtain confirmation from the spokesman of the 8 Division, Nigerian Army, Lt. Col. Olaniyi Osoba, were unsuccessful, as he had yet to respond to a message sent to him as of press time.

Altine said the attackers moved into the heart of Kebbe after the confrontation with the troops, particularly the Sabon Gari area, where they allegedly broke into shops and stole large quantities of mobile phones and bread.

He said the militants also attacked a military vehicle equipped with a mounted rocket-propelled grenade, damaging three tyres and breaking its windscreen.

The attackers reportedly proceeded to the General Hospital, Kebbe, where they allegedly smashed the windows of vehicles parked within the hospital premises, including the vehicle of the Divisional Police Officer and an ambulance.

“They also seized mobile phones belonging to patients at the hospital,” Altine added.

He further alleged that the terrorists took four motorcycles belonging to residents before beginning their withdrawal from the town.

According to Altine, the attackers eventually left Kebbe in the evening through the direction of the police station and proceeded towards communities west of the town.

“Reports from villages west of Kebbe indicate that they entered Ungushi town, one of the districts in Kebbe Local Government Area,” he said.

Altine said there was no confirmation that any of the attackers had been killed despite the reported gun battle with security forces.

“As of the time of writing this report, we have not seen the body of even one Lakurawa fighter that the soldiers succeeded in killing,” he said.

(PUNCH)

Our Reporter 

The Osun State Government, on Thursday, approached the court for an order of mandamus to compel the investigation of Senator Francis Fadahunsi over alleged threats against supporters of the Accord Party ahead of  today’s governorship election.

The application marked HOS/M.157/26, which was filed by the Attorney General of Osun State, has the Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command, as Respondents. 

The Applicant told the court that the legal action followed a video circulating on social media in which the lawmaker representing Osun East Senatorial District, Fadahunsi, was allegedly captured while addressing a political gathering in front of the Owa Obokun’s Palace in Ilesha on August 11.

The lawmaker was alleged to have made statements interpreted as calls for violence against members of the Accord Party and supporters of the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke.

The court was told that a transcript and translation of the speech showed Fadahunsi allegedly directing supporters to attack Accord members wherever they encountered them and also made threats against their families.

The lawmaker was alleged to have instructed his supporters to chase Accord members out of hotels where they were found and made derogatory comments about the party’s yellow caps.

The Attorney-General is among other things, asking the court to compel the police to investigate the video and determine whether the alleged statements constitute criminal offences under applicable laws.

He is also seeking an order directing the police to preserve, authenticate and conduct a forensic examination of the complete video to establish whether it has been altered or edited.

Other reliefs sought include compelling the police to take preventive measures to protect Accord candidates, members and voters from intimidation or harassment before, during and after the election.

“An order directing the Respondents, jointly and severally, to ensure that no person or group acting upon the alleged statements/publication is permitted to intimidate, threaten, attack, harass, chase from hotels, er unlawfully prevent Accord Party members, supporters, or any registered voter from freely exercising their constitutional and statutory rights before, during, and after the forthcoming Osun State Governorship Election scheduled for 15 August 2026.”

As well as, “An order directing the Respondents, jointly and severally, to submit a comprehensive report of all steps taken in compliance with the orders of this Honourable Court within forty-eight (48) hours of the grant of these orders or within such other time as this Honourable Court may deem fit to prescribe, having regard to the extreme urgency and public safety implications of the matter.”

In the supporting affidavit, Nurudeen Kareem, Special Adviser to Governor Ademola Adeleke on Legal Matters, said Accord members had expressed “reasonable and legitimate concerns regarding their safety and security before, during, and after the forthcoming election.”

The government argued that the police have a statutory responsibility under the Police Act 2020 and the 1999 Constitution to prevent crime and maintain public order.

It maintained that waiting until violence occurs before investigating an alleged public threat would undermine the preventive role of law enforcement.

“The Applicant believes that waiting until actual violence, deaths, or injuries occur before investigating an alleged public instruction to kill political opponents would amount to a dereliction of duty,” the government said.

The Attorney-General also clarified that the suit was not asking the court to determine Fadahunsi’s criminal guilt, stressing that such a determination would require a proper criminal trial.

Rather, the government said it was seeking to compel the police to carry out their statutory responsibilities and take appropriate preventive action.

With the election scheduled for Saturday, the government said “time is of the absolute essence”, warning that failure to act on the alleged threats could expose residents to “irreparable harm, loss of life, and widespread civil unrest.”

Aside from the suit before the Osun State High Court, direct criminal complaints have also been filed against Senator Fadahunsi and an APC House of Representatives candidate in the state, Damilare Eniade, for allegedly “uttering seditious words contrary to sections 50 and 51 of the Osun State Criminal Code.