EU-backed Group, CSOs Join Engagement With IGP On Osun Election Security

Cohort members supported by the European Union (EU) under the EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) Programme joined other civil society organisations (CSOs) in an engagement with the inspector-general of police (IGP) Olatunji Rilwan Disu, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, ahead of the Osun State governorship election.

It provided an opportunity for civil society representatives to share findings from pre-election monitoring, incident tracking, public perception surveys and field assessments, with discussions focusing on rising political tensions, electoral violence, security preparedness and public confidence in the neutrality of security agencies.

The CSOs presented a consolidated assessment of the pre-election environment based on six months of independent monitoring.

The assessment identified 13 of the state’s 30 LGAs as high-risk, with reported killings, violent attacks and heightened political tensions. It also recorded 34 known fatalities across 44 incidents between June 2025 and June 2026.

On behalf of the EU-SDGN cohort, Samson Itodo, executive director of Yiaga Africa, said the Osun election carries significance beyond the state as the last major poll before the 2027 general election. He stressed that securing the election requires not only preventing violence, but also ensuring that security operations are professional, impartial, proportionate and trusted by citizens.

“Osun is both an election-security test and a public-trust test. Security agencies must demonstrate impartiality, proportionality, accountability and operational readiness throughout the electoral process,” Itodo said.

Public confidence in the neutrality of security agencies featured prominently in the discussions. A survey of 669 residents referenced during the engagement found that roughly nine in ten respondents expressed concerns about aggressive use of force and the perceived partiality of security agents.

Itodo noted that perceptions of bias could themselves become a security risk, particularly where legitimate security operations are interpreted through a partisan lens. He stressed the importance of ensuring that the neutrality of security agencies is not only maintained but is visible and verifiable.

“The credibility of the election will depend not only on the absence of violence, but also on public confidence that security institutions enforce electoral laws impartially, protect political actors and citizens equitably, and respond to threats without fear, favour or political interference,” Itodo said.
The civil society representatives called for risk-specific security deployment based on the threat profile of different locations rather than a single operational approach across the state. They also recommended clear rules of engagement, stronger early-warning and incident-response mechanisms, intelligence-led action against organised violence and threat networks, and improved real-time coordination and public communication.

The delegation further called for a clear communication channel between the Police and accredited election observers to support timely information-sharing, escalation of security incidents and accountability before, during and after the election.

For the EU-supported cohort members, a peaceful and credibly secured Osun election would help strengthen public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Itodo emphasised that the responsibility of security institutions extends beyond preventing violence. It also requires creating an environment in which citizens can participate freely and confidently, while demonstrating that Nigeria’s security institutions can protect the electoral process without becoming actors in it.