Civil society group urges police to stop shielding ‘illegal occupants’ of Osun LG secretariats

A coalition of civil society organisations under the aegis of the Network of Civil Society Groups, Osun State, has called on the Nigeria Police Force to immediately withdraw what it described as police protection being provided for “illegal occupants” of local government council secretariats across the state.

Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Monday, the group’s convener, Olanrewaju Stephen, alleged that the tenure of the affected All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen and councillors had expired, making their continued occupation of council offices unlawful.

Stephen accused the Osun State Commissioner of Police, CP Gotan, of disregarding the law by allegedly continuing to provide security cover for the officials.

He recalled that on January 5, 2026, the tenure-expired and court-sacked APC chairmen and councillors allegedly stormed and re-occupied council secretariats under police protection.

“During the invasion, civil servants who had resumed work after months of strike action were reportedly molested and dehumanised,” he said, describing the incident as a clear case of abuse of police powers and complicity in constitutional breaches.

According to the group, the continued occupation of local government secretariats by officials whose tenure has expired and who have been sacked by the courts is illegal, unconstitutional and amounts to what it termed “political banditry.”

“The Nigeria Police Force must immediately withdraw all protection from these illegal occupants and desist from enforcing lawlessness,” Stephen said.

He insisted that all individuals whose tenure expired on October 26, 2025, must vacate the council secretariats without delay, warning that failure to do so should attract lawful removal in line with due process.

The civil society coalition warned that persistent violations of the Constitution and open defiance of court judgments pose a serious threat to democratic governance, the rule of law and public order in Osun State.

“Nigeria must not normalise illegality, especially at the grassroots level of governance,” the group cautioned.