Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke on Wednesday vowed to sue the state’s opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) for N5 billion for defamation.
The warning came after the APC warned that a senior member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State was planning a violent attack ahead of the state’s governorship election in 2026.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Osun APC’s Director of Media and Information, Mr. Kola Olabisi, referred to a viral video in which an anonymous PDP chieftain threatened to attack the Independent National Electoral Commission’s office in Osun.
According to Olabisi, the PDP chieftain voiced concern in the video that his party might not win the Osun governorship race in 2026.
The APC alleged that the said PDP chieftain was captured in the video, saying, “It is the example of what the APC would do in Osun State that it did in Edo State last week. Whoever wants to die, let him die.
“There ought to have been a clandestine arrangement where one or two chartered bomb-laced helicopters would have been stationed in the neighbouring Delta State from where they would have successfully bombed the INEC office, where close to 150 and 200 innocent people, including the Resident Electoral Commissioner, the Assistant Inspector General of Police, the Returning Officer, and presiding officers, would have met their untimely deaths.
“I can remember that we suggested the same maximum violence for Osun State during the 2022 elections in the state, but it was needless as we won the election. We must realise the fact that the Osun APC never knew that they could lose the 2022 governorship election. If we slack now and allow them to win the 2026 governorship election, there is no way that the PDP would take it back from them again till eternity.
“We must be prepared for the next election and be ready to kill close to 200 innocent people, including the REC, the AIG, the returning officer, and the presiding officers, through the bombing of the INEC office so that they won’t be able to either collate or count the ballot papers, let alone announce any result.
“We should work towards it, as no one would know who might have carried out the dastardly act. Go and kill the people to implicate the INEC. They won’t be able to declare the results. It would attract the attention of the United Nations.”
Olabisi expressed disappointment that, about a week after the video went viral, neither the Osun governor nor the PDP leadership in the state had condemned it, claiming that the development had rendered the governor and his party key suspects in the alleged plot.
He then urged the Inspector-General of Police to examine the allegations and put to justice whoever was behind the alleged scheme to spill blood during elections.v
Olabisi added, “Why are Governor Adeleke and his co-travellers afraid of losing the election when it was apparent that it was a party that lost to the PDP and the heavens did not fall? In a similar manner, when Governor Adeleke loses the forthcoming governorship election, the heavens would also not cave in.
“If the PDP promoters of violence should be allowed to act according to their threat, it would be on record that a clarification call was earlier made to the security agencies in this regard. Prevention is far better than cure.”
Mr. Olawale Rasheed, Adeleke’s spokesperson, responded by threatening to direct his attorneys to sue Olabisi for N5 billion in damages over the accusations.
Rasheed called Olabisi’s statement irresponsible and asked him to recant the false charges or face legal action.
“The allegation is reprehensible, baseless, and defamatory. Mr. Governor has ordered his lawyers to review the situation and demand retraction, as the governor did not and has not in any way planned or plotted any attack on either INEC or any electoral official.
“Upon failure to retract the offensive publication, the state director faces a potential libel suit to the tune of N5bn damages. This deliberate falsehood will have consequences.
“Ever since the Edo election, many operatives of Osun APC have been boasting across media platforms to violently rig the 2026 governorship elections. We have all the clips of threats and vow to snatch 2026 ballots at all costs.
“As a populist and performing leader, Governor Adeleke is, however, not bothered by those rantings, as the Osun PDP has the enhanced backing of the people of Osun State,” Rasheed said.
