TEXT OF A PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE COALITION OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE

Date: 20th July 2026

Venue: Lagos Airport Hotel Ikeja Lagos

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, Distinguished Guests, Fellow Nigerians,

Good Morning.

We have convened this press conference today because our dear nation stands at a dangerous crossroads in Osun State. The heightened political tension in the state ahead of the August 15, 2026 Governorship election is no longer a matter of ordinary campaign rivalry. Credible intelligence and disturbing ground reports point to a sinister, well-orchestrated plot to manufacture insecurity as a pretext to declare a State of Emergency, suspend democratic governance, and sack the duly elected government of Governor Ademola Adeleke.

The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for Good Governance unequivocally condemns this anti-democratic scheme. We stand firmly with the people of Osun State and with constitutional democracy.

Reliable reports from highly placed sources, including patriotic members of Nigeria’s security agencies, reveal plans to unleash politically sponsored violence targeted at innocent citizens in the coming weeks. The goal is clear: create sufficient chaos and bloodshed to justify federal intervention through a State of Emergency. This emergency rule would effectively remove Governor Adeleke’s administration and hand an undue advantage to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming election. This is not democracy; it is a brazen attempt at electoral capture through unconstitutional means.

We have received alarming accounts of specific acts of aggression already unfolding across the state. In recent days, political thugs have brazenly invaded motor parks in several parts of Osun State, attacking citizens, disrupting economic activities, and instilling fear. Shockingly, some operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have been openly identified as aiding and protecting these thugs rather than stopping them. This partisan conduct by elements within the security apparatus is unacceptable and dangerous.

We specifically call out the Osun State Police Command for its glaring partisan posture. The Command has repeatedly turned a blind eye to the growing wave of violence perpetrated by thugs allegedly sponsored by the APC. Despite numerous formal complaints and cries from citizens, the Command has failed to act decisively to protect lives and property. This selective inaction erodes public trust and emboldens criminals. A police force that chooses sides in a political contest ceases to be a neutral defender of peace and becomes part of the security threat.

Comrades and Fellow Nigerians, we cannot allow history to repeat itself. The people of Osun State have the sovereign right to freely choose their next governor on August 15 without coercion, violence, or federal interference. Governor Ademola Adeleke was democratically elected, and any attempt to remove him through manufactured emergency must be resisted by all lovers of democracy.

We therefore issue the following clarion calls:

To the Federal Government: Do not allow desperate politicians to push Nigeria into another constitutional crisis. Security agencies must remain neutral, professional, and proactive in preventing violence, not enabling it.

To the Nigeria Police Force and other security institutions: Return to the path of neutrality. Protect citizens, not political sponsors. The world is watching.

To the All Progressives Congress: Call your supporters to order. Political competition must be through ballots, not bullets or thugs.

To the international community, the United Nations, African Union, ECOWAS, the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, and all democratic nations and institutions, we draw your urgent attention to this unfolding plot. Nigeria’s democracy is under threat. We urge you to deploy observers immediately, issue strong public warnings against any unconstitutional declaration of emergency, and monitor developments in Osun State closely.

Let it be known to all: The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for Good Governance is fully prepared to mobilize millions of Nigerians across the country to resist, through lawful and peaceful means, any attempt to impose emergency rule or subvert the will of the Osun people. We will not sit idly by while democracy is raped in broad daylight.

Finally, we put every sponsor of violence, every thug, and every compromised security operative on notice: We are documenting names, faces, and evidence. Anyone involved in the orchestration or execution of violence against innocent citizens in Osun State will be held accountable. We will drag such persons before the international community and the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Political violence is a crime against humanity, and impunity will no longer be tolerated.

The people of Osun State deserve peace. They deserve the right to vote freely. They deserve to live under a government they elected, not one imposed through chaos and emergency rule.

We stand with Osun. We stand with democracy. We stand with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Thank you. We are ready to take your questions.