Police Arrest Osun Lawmaker, 146 Alleged ‘Imported’ Voters

The Osun State Police Command has arrested a serving member of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Abiola Ibrahim Inaolaji, and 146 suspected electoral mercenaries allegedly camped at his residence in Ikire.

The arrests were made during a police operation at the lawmaker’s residence on Friday night, ahead of the ongoing Osun State governorship election.

Ibrahim, who represents the Irewole/Isokan State Constituency in the State House of Assembly, was arrested alongside the suspects, while more than 200 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were reportedly recovered from the residence.

A video clip circulating on social media showed the lawmaker being questioned by security operatives.

In the video, Ibrahim identified himself and allegedly acknowledged that the 146 individuals were brought into Osun State from neighbouring states.

He said they were staying at his residence to vote for the Accord Party in the governorship election.

The lawmaker also told the security operatives that the individuals had not been promised anything in exchange for their votes.

According to the police, preliminary investigations showed that the suspects were brought into Osun from Ondo State to participate in alleged unlawful electoral activities.

The command said some of the suspects told investigators that they had been recruited by a yet-to-be-identified politician, who allegedly facilitated the procurement of voters’ cards for them and instructed them to vote in exchange for financial rewards.

The arrest is part of intensified security operations by the police and other security agencies to prevent activities capable of undermining the credibility and peaceful conduct of the election.

The development comes amid heightened political tension in Osun, with political parties and other stakeholders raising allegations of vote buying, voter inducement, intimidation, violence and other electoral offences.

The police said investigations were ongoing to identify and apprehend other accomplices allegedly involved in the recruitment of the suspects, voter inducement and other related electoral offences.

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