Osun: ‘APC Attempted to Rape Democracy, Laid Siege Like Bandits’ — Atiku’s Aide Claims

Demola Olarenwaju, Senior Political Assistant to African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to undermine democracy in Osun State ahead of the governorship election.

Olarenwaju alleged that the APC “laid siege” to Osun State for more than two weeks before Saturday’s election, accusing the party and its supporters of intimidation, violence and attempts to weaken the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke.

In a post on X, Olarenwaju said the alleged attempt to influence the election had failed after Adeleke emerged victorious.

He warned that Nigerians could reject the APC in the 2027 general elections in the same way he claimed Osun voters rejected the party.

“The failure of the attempted rape of democracy in Osun State by the APC does not change what they are: a shameless bunch of selfish politicians with no regard for democracy,” he wrote.

Olarenwaju alleged that APC members harassed political figures, attacked people and damaged government infrastructure in the weeks leading to the election.

“For over two weeks, the APC laid siege to Osun State like bandits — harassing party chieftains, shooting and maiming people, and destroying state infrastructure to make Adeleke look bad,” he claimed.

He also alleged that the freezing of some Osun State government accounts was part of efforts to weaken the Adeleke administration before the election.

“The marauding party even froze Osun accounts to cripple the government until Nigerians spoke up,” he said.

Olarenwaju, however, acknowledged that he had no evidence for one of his claims concerning the alleged involvement of an unnamed APC governor.

“I do not know this for a fact, so nobody should quote me,” he said, before alleging that an APC governor may have supplied high-level intelligence to the Adeleke camp during the election.

He suggested that such alleged information-sharing may have helped the governor’s supporters respond to activities by APC leaders and protect the electorate’s choice.

Olarenwaju further argued that defeating the APC nationally would require political strategies that involve people with experience inside the ruling party.

“There is no way to defeat the APC without working from inside the APC, and that’s one edge the ADC has with former Buhari men,” he said.

Adeleke, the Accord Party candidate, won the Osun governorship election with 511,067 votes, defeating APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes.

The result has intensified political debate over the implications of the Osun election ahead of the 2027 presidential contest.