Osun Election 2026: Police Invade Governor Adeleke’s Media Aide’s Home At 1am, Arrest Him

Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force invaded the residence of Alalade Bukola Félix, popularly known as Machiavelli, a Special Assistant on Media to Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, in the early hours of Monday and abducted him after breaking down the door of his home.

We gathered that the incident occurred around 1 a.m. when the police officers stormed Alalade’s residence and demanded that he come out.

A voice note obtained by SaharaReporters captured the moment the policemen invaded the residence.

In the recording, Alalade could be heard pleading with the officers and asking who they were, while also telling them that he would come out voluntarily.

However, the recording subsequently captured sounds suggesting that the officers were breaking down the door of the residence before gaining entry.

The voice of Alalade’s wife, Folakemi, could also be heard pleading with the officers not to arrest her husband. The officers could reportedly be heard shouting at her and warning her not to intervene.

However, it was alleged that the arrest was carried out by the Osun State Police Command as part of clampdown on members and supporters of opposition political parties by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Speaking on Monday, Folakemi narrated how her husband was taken away from their home in the middle of the night.

She said she noticed a reflection of light through the window around 1 a.m. and attempted to wake her husband.

“Yes, we were at home. We were at home sleeping and I saw the traces of light through the window around 1 a.m. So I tried to wake him up. I could see some reflection through the window,” she said.

According to her, after Alalade woke up, the people outside began shouting his name and ordering him to come outside.

She said they initially refused to open the door because they did not know who was outside.

“So when he woke up, they were shouting his name that he should come out, but we refused to open the door for them. So they tried until they burst in by themselves. They broke through the door by themselves,” she said.

“When they came inside, we tried to beg them. They said no, so they took him away.”

Asked who the people were, Folakemi said the men identified themselves as policemen but did not disclose the particular police formation or command they belonged to.

“They said they were policemen, because we asked them, ‘Who are you?’ They said they were policemen. They didn’t even say from where. They were just banging the door that we should open, that they are policemen, they are policemen,” she said.

“So they destroyed the door and got inside.”

Folakemi said she was later informed that her husband had been taken to Osogbo.

“I just heard from him. I was told he was taken to State CID, Osogbo. That is the latest information I got,” she said.

When asked whether the police told them why Alalade was being arrested or disclosed any offence he was alleged to have committed, she said they were given no explanation.

The arrest of the governor’s media aide comes amid claims of heightened political tension in Osun State ahead of Saturday’s governorship election and allegations of a clampdown on accord political figures and supporters in the state.

Folakemi, who said her family had been thrown into distress following the incident, appealed to the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, and the state police commissioner to intervene and secure her husband’s release.

She said the uncertainty surrounding his arrest had left her and other members of the family in severe distress.

“They should please release my husband. All my family is in tension. Even me, I am vomiting, I am also purging. I am not okay. I have been running up and down since,” she said.

“They should please release him. My husband is a normal man. He doesn’t cause any issue, any trouble at all. He goes on his own. They should please release him.”