Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has alleged that more than 60 leaders of the Accord Party were arrested by the police and transferred to correctional facilities in Abuja and Nasarawa State despite the availability of courts in Osun State.

Adeleke made the allegation on Thursday while speaking at a peace summit in Osogbo ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

In a statement shared on his X account, the governor claimed that his administration and supporters had been subjected to sustained attacks over the past three months, accusing former Osun State Governor and Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, of orchestrating the violence.

“I should have boycotted this peace meeting because of the violence unleashed on Osun State in the last few months, on the directive of Gboyega Oyetola,” Adeleke said.

“Our gathering is to endorse peace, but my government and people are facing police-sanctioned violence and intimidation.”

The governor also accused the Osun State Police Command of aiding attacks against his supporters.

According to Adeleke, more than 60 Accord Party leaders, including the party’s House of Representatives candidate, Hon. Alaba, were arrested and moved to correctional facilities in Abuja and Nasarawa State.

“Why Abuja? We have both the Federal High Court and State High Courts in Osun State, where anyone can be arraigned,” he said.

Adeleke further alleged that the Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaye, was arrested on what he described as fabricated charges after police officers allegedly raided his residence without a court-authorised warrant.

The governor claimed that eight members of his party had been killed and more than 20 others injured in recent attacks, alleging that none of the perpetrators had been prosecuted.

“There is no single prosecution or active arrest till date. The perpetrators are known Osun APC thugs with crimes committed in the presence of the police,” he alleged.

He appealed to the Inspector-General of Police to return those in custody to Osun State and prosecute them in courts within the state if there was evidence they had committed any offence.

“Those remanded in prisons should be returned to Osun State and charged before courts in Osun State if the police can show they have committed any crime,” Adeleke said.

The governor also called on President Bola Tinubu to caution Oyetola and the Osun State Commissioner of Police against what he described as further acts of intimidation and violence.

The allegations come after the police arrested Igbalaye and five other individuals over alleged vote-buying. Police spokesperson Abiodun Ojelabi said officers recovered ₦4.8 million and other electoral materials from a residence linked to the Secretary to the State Government.

Political tension has continued to rise in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election, with the Accord Party and the All Progressives Congress (APC) trading accusations over recent incidents of violence and intimidation.