The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, RULAAC, on Sunday, congratulated Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party on his re-election as Governor of Osun State.
In a statement issued by the Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, RULAAC commended “the people of Osun State for their participation and for choosing the democratic path despite an intensely competitive and highly charged electoral environment.”
RULAAC also congratulated all candidates and political parties that participated in the election and urged those who may have grievances concerning the process or results to pursue them through the established legal and judicial channels.
The rights group condemned the desperation, threats and electoral violence exhibited by politicians during the exercise.
RULAAC statement reads:
“RULAAC is concerned by the level of political desperation and tension that preceded the election, including reported threats of violence, inflammatory rhetoric, allegations of intimidation, vote buying and mobilisation of political thugs.
“The competitive character of an election must never become a justification for violence or threats against citizens.
“Political actors must understand that elections are contests for public trust and constitutional authority—not battles to be won at all costs.
“The preliminary observations of the EU-SDGN Election Observation Hub, which deployed hundreds of observers across all 30 LGAs, provide an important reminder.
“Its observers recorded 323 electoral offences and irregularities and 38 security incidents in the polling units observed. These included reported cases of thuggery, attacks on electoral officials and voter intimidation.
“These incidents should not be allowed to disappear after the declaration of the winner. They require documentation, investigation and, where appropriate, prosecution.
Commendation to the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies
“Notwithstanding these concerns, RULAAC particularly commends the Nigeria Police Force and other statutory security agencies for their overall contribution to maintaining a relatively peaceful environment for the conduct of the election.
“The Police deserve special commendation for the operational preparations undertaken under the leadership of Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu.
“The IGP publicly committed the Police to neutrality, professionalism and impartiality and engaged civil society organisations ahead of the election.
“He also strengthened the operational command structure by deploying senior officers, including a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, to coordinate election security.
“The Police decision to make election security the responsibility of constitutionally recognised security agencies and to exclude Amotekun, vigilantes, hunters, neighbourhood watch groups and other non-state or quasi-security formations from election-security operations was also significant.
“While community-based security actors have legitimate roles in other contexts, the election environment requires a clear chain of command, identifiable legal responsibility and accountability.
“We commend the Police, DSS, NSCDC, FRSC and other agencies involved in election security for helping to prevent the widespread breakdown of order that many feared before the election.
“The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room similarly rated the deployment and coordination of the security agencies highly, while drawing attention to isolated incidents requiring follow-up.
Accountability must accompany commendation*
“Commending the security agencies should not mean overlooking incidents of misconduct.
“The EU-SDGN observers’ reported incidents of voter intimidation require serious attention.
“Dataphyte also reported the harassment of its observers, including an incident in which security personnel were alleged to have intervened against an observer documenting the election.
“There was also the reported incident at Modakeke involving the discharge of tear gas. The Police subsequently described the discharge as accidental.
“Of particular note, however, is the reported swift response to a viral video involving a police officer allegedly disrupting the electoral process. According to the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, the officer was apprehended.
“RULAAC considers such responsiveness important. It demonstrates that institutional accountability is possible when complaints are promptly identified and acted upon.
“The lesson is therefore not that the Police performed perfectly. Rather, it is that the security agencies demonstrated considerable capacity to secure the election, while isolated cases of misconduct underline the need to strengthen internal accountability and human-rights compliance.
Lessons for election security ahead of 2027
“Osun 2026 should be treated as an important laboratory for improving Nigeria’s election-security architecture before the 2027 general elections.
“First, election security must be measured not merely by the absence of large-scale violence, but by the protection of citizens’ democratic and human rights. A peaceful polling unit is not necessarily a rights-respecting polling unit if voters are intimidated or observers are harassed.
“Second, neutrality must be operational rather than rhetorical. Security personnel must protect voters, candidates, party agents, journalists, observers and electoral officials without discrimination or political influence.
“Third, there must be clear accountability for individual misconduct. The reported apprehension of the police officer involved in the viral incident should become the model: complaints should be logged, investigated promptly and sanctions imposed where wrongdoing is established.
“Fourth, security personnel deployed for elections require specialised election-security and human-rights training. They must understand the Electoral Act, rules governing polling and collation, citizens’ fundamental rights, the lawful use of force, crowd management and the rights of accredited observers and journalists.
“Fifth, the use of force must remain lawful, necessary, proportionate and accountable. Incidents involving tear gas or other force at election locations must be independently reviewed, particularly where voters or election officials may have been affected.
“Sixth, observers must be protected. Independent observers are part of the transparency mechanism of an election. Their legitimate monitoring and documentation should not be treated as interference. Any restriction on their activities must have a clear legal basis.
“Seventh, the security agencies should institutionalise stronger pre-election engagement with civil society. The IGP’s engagement with CSOs before Osun is a useful practice that should be retained and expanded for 2027.
“Eighth, intelligence-led prevention should replace reaction after violence occurs. The threats and inflammatory statements made before Osun demonstrate the need for early identification of political actors, networks and locations presenting heightened risks.
“Ninth, the Police and other security agencies should maintain a publicly accessible election incident and accountability mechanism. Citizens should know where to report intimidation, violence or misconduct and should be able to track the response.
“Finally, the experience of Osun reinforces the need for a clearly coordinated inter-agency election-security framework.
“No agency should operate as an independent political actor or compete for operational space. There must be clear roles, command responsibility and accountability.”
RULAAC said Osun should be a bridge to better election security in 2027
The group noted that the independent observation reports are useful precisely because they provide a more nuanced picture than either political triumphalism or political condemnation.
“The EU-SDGN Election Observation Hub described the polling environment as generally orderly and peaceful while documenting significant security incidents.
“The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room commended the deployment and coordination of security agencies while identifying isolated concerns. CLEEN Foundation similarly described the security environment in the opening hours as largely calm, while noting isolated violence and other disruptions. Dataphyte documented concerns about the treatment of observers.
“Taken together, these observations suggest that Nigeria’s election-security institutions are capable of doing better—and that they must.”
The rights group urged the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to conduct a comprehensive post-election security review of the Osun election, involving civil society and independent observers, and to translate the lessons identified into a national election-security improvement plan ahead of 2027.
“The success of an election-security operation should ultimately be judged by whether every citizen can vote freely, every candidate can compete without intimidation, every observer can observe without harassment, every journalist can report without fear, and every electoral official can perform their duty without coercion.
RULAAC commended the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, the leadership and personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, and other security agencies for helping to keep Osun largely peaceful.
“We urge them to build on this performance while ensuring that every reported case of misconduct is investigated and appropriately dealt with.
“The challenge for 2027 is clear: Nigeria must move from election security that merely contains violence to election security that actively protects democracy, human rights and the rule of law,” RULAAC said.
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