#EkitiDecides2026: Police say Isan unrest not connected to governorship poll, give reason for reported fracas

The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed suggestions that a disturbance reported at Isan Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State was connected to the ongoing governorship election in the state, insisting the incident stemmed from a disagreement following a football match in the community.

Speaking during a live interview on Africa Independent Television, the Commissioner of Police in charge of election security in Ekiti State, Abayomi Shogunle, said the fracas had no political or electoral undertone.

“The violence experienced at Isan Police Station in Oye Local Government Area resulted from a football match played in the community,” Mr Shogunle said.

“The fracas started from a football match played in the community. It has nothing to do with politics or elections.”

His comments follow heightened attention on security developments during the governorship election, which PREMIUM TIMES has been monitoring across the state.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the violence occurred around 6 p.m. on Friday, and two police officers were injured.

Mr Shogunle said voting continued uninterrupted in the affected community despite disagreements.

“That same community in Isan Ekiti, election is ongoing as we speak. Despite arguments that occurred between candidates of different parties, we can now see that voting is ongoing and that argument has not disrupted the election,” he said.

The police commissioner added that reports from officers deployed across the state indicated that accreditation and voting were proceeding peacefully.

“The polling unit where I currently am, I have been informed by police officers that everything is under control. Across all the local government areas, the reports I have been receiving are that accreditation and voting are ongoing peacefully and there are no serious incidents to report,” he said.

Mr Shogunle also said the large voter turnout being recorded across the state reflected public confidence in the security arrangements put in place for the election.

“During our briefing with the media two days ago, I assured a high voter turnout. What we have been seeing and observing confirms that. We have seen high voter turnout in all units,” he said.

According to him, security agencies would continue to review deployments throughout the exercise to ensure a peaceful and hitch-free poll.

Also speaking during the interview, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, Adegoke Fayoade, said he inspected perceived flashpoints in border communities between Ekiti, Kogi and Kwara states.

Mr Fayoade said he visited more than 10 polling units and interacted with security personnel and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“I have spoken with security and INEC officials and there has been no report of electoral violence since the commencement of the election,” he said.

Responding to questions about the visibility of other security agencies at polling centres, the police officer said the police remained the lead agency for election security but were working alongside sister agencies.

“The police seem to be the principal agency in charge of this election. I saw the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in one of the polling units. Every security agency is here,” he said.

He added that between 30,000 and 40,000 police officers were deployed for the election.

PREMIUM TIMES correspondents deployed across Ekiti State reported that voter turnout has been uneven across the state, with some polling units recording an impressive turnout and other seeing scanty number of voters coming out to cast their ballot. This newspaper also documented complaints and incidents in some locations during the exercise.