Osun election: CP Gotan responds to Adeleke’s allegation over ‘Port Harcourt’ officer

The Osun State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, has defended the authority of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to deploy officers to the state, following Governor Ademola Adeleke’s allegation that a police officer was brought from Port Harcourt to disrupt the ongoing governorship election.

Gotan, while responding to the allegation raised by Adeleke shortly after the governor cast his vote in Ede, said the IGP has the constitutional and administrative authority to deploy any serving police officer to any part of the country.

“The IGP has the right to deploy anyone, so far they are a police officer,” the commissioner said.

Adeleke had earlier raised the alarm over the alleged presence of a police officer identified as “London”, whom he claimed was brought from Port Harcourt by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to allegedly interfere with voting in Ede, the governor’s hometown.

Speaking after voting at Unit 009, Ward 2, Ede North Local Government Area, Adeleke called on the IGP and other security agencies to monitor the officer’s activities and prevent any attempt to disrupt the electoral process.

The governor also alleged that there was an attempt to bypass the established process for the collation of results by moving results directly to the collation centre instead of following the required sequence from polling units to wards and local government areas.

Adeleke said:

“There is one police officer called London from Port Harcourt. They brought him to come and disorganise the vote. So, I am calling on the Inspector-General of Police and all the security agents to watch out and be on the lookout.”

However, the police commissioner’s response appeared to shift the focus to the authority of the police hierarchy to deploy personnel during the election.

Gotan did not specifically comment on Adeleke’s allegation that the officer was deployed to disrupt the election, but maintained that the IGP was within his powers to deploy police officers as required.

The exchange comes amid heightened political tension as voting continues across Osun State, with political parties and candidates closely monitoring security arrangements and the conduct of electoral officials.

Security agencies have been tasked with ensuring that voters are able to exercise their franchise peacefully and that electoral officials can carry out their duties without intimidation or interference.

With voting underway across the state, the deployment and conduct of security personnel are expected to remain under close scrutiny.