Police to deploy four officers per polling unit for Osun governorship election – IGP

The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, has announced that the Nigeria Police Force will deploy a minimum of four officers to each polling unit for the August 15 governorship election in Osun State, describing the exercise as one of the largest election security operations ever undertaken in the state.

Disu disclosed this on Friday during a meeting with civil society organisations in Abuja, where he outlined the police’s security arrangements for the governorship poll.

According to the Inspector-General, Osun State has 30 local government areas, 332 wards and 3,673 polling units, making the operation more extensive than previous elections in states such as Ekiti and Anambra.

He noted that, in addition to the police personnel, officers from other security agencies would also be stationed at polling units to complement security efforts.

“It is a very large operation, larger than the last election we had in Ekiti. We intend to have nothing less than four policemen at every polling unit. Our sister security agencies will also support us at the polling units,” Disu said.

He explained that the scale of deployment was informed by the large number of polling units and the heightened political tension surrounding the election.

The Inspector-General added that the early deployment of personnel was intended to reassure residents and encourage voter participation by providing a secure environment throughout the electoral process.

According to him, officers have already begun arriving in the state, particularly in areas identified as having a higher risk of violence.

Disu urged political parties, candidates and their supporters to conduct themselves peacefully before, during and after the election, stressing that political competition should be based on issues rather than violence.

“No political ambition is worth the loss of a single Nigerian life,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, described the Osun governorship election as a critical test for rebuilding public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Itodo identified the neutrality of security agencies, especially the police, as one of the key concerns among voters and election stakeholders.

“The neutrality of the police force is central to this. Of particular concern to the public is the neutrality of our security agencies,” he said.

He further disclosed that 13 of Osun State’s 30 local government areas have been classified as high-risk due to incidents of killings, violent attacks and growing political tension.

According to him, patterns of violence in the state have evolved from coordinated shootings to politically motivated abductions and attacks around government institutions, including local government facilities.

Itodo identified Osogbo as a critical-risk location requiring strong security coordination, while Irewole, Iwo, Boripe, Ife Central and Ife East were also listed among areas requiring heightened security attention.

He urged the police to adopt intelligence-driven, risk-based deployment strategies to effectively secure identified hotspots.

Yiaga Africa also disclosed that 34 people were killed in 44 incidents of election-related violence recorded across Osun State between June 2025 and June 2026.

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