The Osun State House of Assembly members have accused the Independent National Electoral Commission of planning to compromise the August 15 governorship election by making use of the members snd loyalists of the All Progressives Congress as electoral officials.

A majority 24 out of the 26 lawmakers, under the ruling Accord Party, made this allegation while addressing journalists at the Assembly complex in Osogbo.

This is also as the legislators linked the sudden redeployment of Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun, Mutiu Agboke, to the influence and pressure by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola.

Addresing the media, the Speaker of the House, Adewale Egbedun, demanded free and fair election, noting that the legislative arm would not tolerate any form of electoral manipulation.

“It has come to our notice that there has been a sudden redeployment of the Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Osun State. We also have credible information that further deployments of interested people are being planned and may extend to other key officials, including the Administrative Secretary, Electoral Officers, Assistant Electoral Officers, and ICT personnel across the State.

We are particularly concerned by a deliberate pattern of actions aimed at influencing the electoral process in Osun State.

It is instructive to note that Ekiti State, which precedes Osun in the electoral calendar, has not witnessed such widespread deployments of electoral officials. This raises serious and legitimate questions. Why Osun State?,” Egbedun wondered.

Insisting that Agboke’s removal was facilitated by Oyetola, the Speaker said, “We state clearly that we have credible information linking these developments to the actions and influence of Mr Gboyega Oyetola.”

He warned, “Let it be clearly stated that no amount of administrative changes or deployments of interested officials will override the will of the people of Osun State.

These calculated efforts, no matter how structured, cannot alter the resolve of our people. The people of Osun State are politically conscious, vigilant, and determined to ensure that their votes count and reflect their true choice.”

Alleging of plans to recruit APC loyalists as INEC officials ahead of the poll, Egbedun stated, “We have also received credible reports that in parts of the State, particularly within the Ife Ijesa Senatorial District, there are plans to compromise the process through the use of APC members in critical electoral roles such as returning officers and supervisors. This is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We are placing the public on notice.”

The lawmakers further warned that the deployment of a new REC to Osun would be in accordance with the law, adding, “Let it be made unequivocally clear that whoever is deployed to conduct elections in Osun State must do so in strict accordance with the Constitution and the law. The election must be free, fair, and credible. Anything short of this will be firmly resisted by Osun people.”

They also called the attention of the international community, development partners, and all observers of democratic governance to these developments in Osun State as they unfold, saying, “We speak as representatives of the people of Osun State. All we ask for, and all we insist on, is a free, fair, and credible election.

Let it be known that Osun State is politically aware, vigilant, and deeply committed to democratic values. The people of this State will not accept any action, from any quarter, that undermines the credibility of the electoral process.”

The All Progressives Congress and the New Nigeria Peoples Party had petitioned the National Chairman of INEC, Joash Amupitan against Agboke, accusing him of partisan conducts ahead of the August 15 governorship election in the state.

Terrorists in northeast Nigeria killed a brigadier general in an assault on a military base, a local government chairman told AFP on Thursday, the second killing of a high-ranking officer in five months.

Africa’s most populous country has been fighting a terrorist insurgency for 17 years, since Boko Haram’s 2009 uprising, which has seen the emergence of powerful splinter groups, including Islamic State West Africa Province.

In an overnight attack, unidentified terrorists killed at least 18 soldiers and torched vehicles at a base in Benisheikh, about 75 kilometres from Borno state capital Maiduguri, an intelligence source told AFP.

“Unfortunately, the brigade commander, Brigadier General O.O. Braimah, lost his life,” Kaga Local Government Chairman Zannah Lawan Ajimi told AFP in a phone interview.

Two intelligence sources confirmed Braimah’s death to AFP.

His death follows the killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba by ISWAP in November. He was the highest-ranking military official to die in the long-running conflict since 2021.

“They overran the brigade,” one of the intelligence sources said, giving the death toll as “at least” 18.

The second intelligence source said that “the terrorists killed several troops” and “burnt vehicles and buildings before they withdrew,” without giving a toll.

The army and Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

– Rising terrorist violence –

Researchers have warned of an uptick of violence since 2025.

Borno capital Maiduguri has seen two suicide bombings since December — the type of bloody, urban attacks reminiscent of the insurgency’s peak a decade ago.

On Wednesday, the US State Department said in a notice it was authorising “non-emergency US government employees” to leave Abuja “due to the deteriorating security situation”.

While the insurgency is concentrated in the northeastern countryside, terrorists from Nigeria and the neighbouring Sahel have made inroads western Nigeria, where organised crime gangs known as “bandits” have been raiding villages and extorting farmers and artisanal miners for years.

Gunmen killed at least 90 people across several remote villages in northwest Nigeria this week, according to an AFP tally of tolls given by local and humanitarian sources.

Among the attacks was an assault in Kebbi state that police blamed a local terrorist group known as Mahmuda, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

Kebbi sits on Nigeria’s border with Benin and Niger and since 2025 has been targeted by a rising number of terrorist attacks.

Conflict monitor ACLED says there has been a surge in violence in the area carried out by militants affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

In nearby Kwara state, in October, fighters from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM claimed an attack after years of researchers warning that the terrorist conflict ravaging the Sahel risked spreading south towards coastal West African states.

In December, the United States, with Nigerian assistance, bombed northwest Sokoto state, targeting Islamic State Sahel Province fighters usually found in neighbouring Niger, along with Mali and Burkina Faso.

AFP

A group of Nigerians on Wednesday took their protest to the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja, calling for the removal of the commission’s chairman.

The demonstration is part of the ongoing “Save Democracy” movement gaining attention across the country.

The protesters gathered early at the INEC premises, dressed in branded T-shirts bearing the inscription “Operation Save Our Democracy.”

Many of them also held placards in red and white, with different messages expressing dissatisfaction with the current state of the nation’s electoral system.

Eyewitnesses said the protest remained largely peaceful but loud. The crowd chanted solidarity songs and voiced strong demands for reforms.

A common chant heard at the scene was “We no go gree,” as demonstrators moved in groups around the entrance of the commission’s office. Some protesters also raised specific demands, shouting “INEC Chairman Amupitan must go.”

In a video seen by POLITICS NIGERIA, several well-known activists and political supporters were present at the protest. Supporters of Aisha Yesufu, Mama Pee, Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and other civic voices were visibly active in the demonstration.

The video showed a charged atmosphere, with participants waving placards and engaging in coordinated chants.

Security presence around the area was noticeable but not aggressive. Officers were stationed at strategic points to monitor the situation and ensure that activities did not get out of hand. There were no immediate reports of violence or arrests as of the time of filing this report.

Another clip circulating online showed key figures within the opposition coalition preparing to join the protest. Prominent leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and David Mark, were seen mobilizing supporters at Maitama Roundabout in the Federal Capital Territory.

The group appeared to be gearing up for a larger convergence as part of the same demonstration.

As the protest continues to gather momentum, it remains unclear what immediate response will come from the electoral body or the federal government.