CSO Slams ‘Faceless’ Groups Over Osun Election Hacking Claim, Threatens Lawsuit

The Advocate for Citizens’ Justice and Democratic Accountability, ACJDA, has rejected allegations by two groups that the result of the August 15 Osun governorship election was hacked to favour Governor Ademola Adeleke, describing the claim as “reckless, unsubstantiated and politically dangerous.”

In a statement issued on Saturday in Osogbo, the group also threatened legal action against the purported Liberation Movement of Nigeria and Vanguard for Human Rights over what it called “false, defamatory and inflammatory claims.”

ACJDA said the allegation that the election was hacked is dead on arrival because it lacks verifiable evidence and contradicts facts available to observers and voters.

The statement signed by Comrade Mayowa Ogundijo said, “The real story of the Osun election is how the people resisted attempts to undermine their democratic choice from the pre-election period through voting, collation and declaration.”

According to ACJDA, the victory of Governor Adeleke was “not the outcome of hacking operations but the supremacy of the people’s will, despite heavy vote-buying by the opposition APC.”

The group recalled incidents it said were attempts to compromise the election, including alleged theft of voter cards in Odo-Otin, shootings, intimidation, arrests of political actors, and vote-buying in Boripe, Irewole, Ilesa East, Ife Zone, and Osogbo Zone, especially Olorunda/Oba-Ile.

“Yet, despite the alleged pressure, the people of Osun turned out to defend their votes. The people did not surrender their mandate,” Ogundijo stated.

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The CSO also dismissed narratives suggesting manipulation at the highest level, and credited President Bola Tinubu and electoral institutions for allowing the process to run its constitutional course.

It noted that local and international observers judged the election as a reflection of the will of Osun people, and warned that attempts to delegitimise the outcome could weaken democratic institutions.

ACJDA urged the two groups to desist from circulating the claims or “be prepared to face appropriate legal action.”

It further advised citizens not to be distracted by what it described as a jester coalition attempting to manufacture controversy after the election.

“Democracy is not a game of propaganda where defeated narratives are resurrected through faceless platforms. Genuine grievances must be pursued through INEC, the courts and other constitutionally recognised mechanisms,” the statement said.

“The mandate of the people cannot be hacked by propaganda, and Osun must not be dragged into political chaos because some interests refuse to accept reality.”

The group pledged to continue monitoring public institutions and defending citizens’ democratic rights through lawful means.