Osun Election: ADC Candidate Says Attack at Polling Unit Was Planned to Target Him

By Opeyemi Adelakun

The African Democratic Congress governorship candidate in Osun State, Najeem Salaam, has alleged that the violence that erupted at his polling unit in Ejigbo on Saturday was a planned attack directed at him.

Salaam made the allegation while speaking to journalists after security operatives whisked him away from the polling unit following the outbreak of violence.

According to the candidate, the incident occurred shortly after he cast his ballot, disrupting what he described as a previously peaceful voting process.

He said his security team quickly moved him away from the area, preventing what he believed was an attempt to attack him.

“The plan was to even attack me. That alone was to attack me, my personality. It is because of my strategic movement from that area that made it impossible for him to attack me. It is not a small thing; it is a big thing. It is a well-planned thing,” Salaam said.

The ADC candidate questioned why violence erupted barely a minute after he voted, stressing that there had been no such disturbance before his arrival.

He expressed concern over the incident and the broader implications for the conduct of elections in the state.

Salaam said the development left him “so bad” and “so sad”, while questioning the effectiveness of security arrangements deployed to protect voters, candidates and other participants during the election.