By John Dike, Osogbo
A coalition of civil society organisations has called for a probe of the August 15 governorship election in Osun State over alleged manipulation of the electoral results.
Operating under the aegis of the Liberation Movement of Nigeria (LMN) and Vanguard for Human Rights (VHR), the group alleged that the election results were manipulated electronically in favour of the incumbent Governor and Accord Party candidate, Ademola Adeleke.
It called on security agencies and the international community to establish an independent investigative panel to examine the alleged hacking of the electoral system and determine whether the results transmitted through the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Results Viewing Portal (IReV) accurately reflected the results recorded at polling units.
The Lead Activist of the coalition, Comrade Ganiyu Abiola, made the allegations in a statement made available to journalists on Thursday.
He alleged that the manipulation purportedly began before election day, claiming that unidentified individuals described as hackers had compromised aspects of INEC’s electronic results transmission system in alleged collaboration with some technical personnel of the electoral body.
According to him, there were discrepancies between results allegedly recorded on physical result sheets, particularly Form EC8 series, and figures subsequently transmitted to the IReV platform.
He claimed that the alleged discrepancies contributed to Adeleke being declared the winner of the election.
However, the allegations have not been independently established, and the coalition did not publicly provide verifiable technical evidence in its statement to substantiate the claim of hacking.
The activist further alleged that members of the purported syndicate operated from neighbouring Ondo and Oyo states, where they allegedly planned their activities on the eve of the election.
He claimed that the alleged manipulation affected results from some local government areas, including Ede North, Ede South and Egbedore.
The coalition consequently urged political parties and other stakeholders who were dissatisfied with the outcome of the election to seek judicial redress rather than allow the controversy to fester.
It also disclosed that it was preparing petitions to relevant security agencies, demanding a discreet investigation into what it described as evidence of electronic manipulation of the election.
Abiola further alleged that a man identified as Mr Seun Ilori had confessed to being a member of the alleged hacking syndicate.
The coalition called for the alleged confession and other claims to be subjected to forensic investigation, saying an independent probe would determine the credibility or otherwise of the allegations.
The group maintained that the credibility of the electoral process remained important to democratic stability in Osun State, stressing that any allegation capable of undermining public confidence in the election should be properly investigated.
Meanwhile, former Ekiti State Governor, Mr Peter Ayodele Fayose, had earlier advised parties and candidates dissatisfied with the outcome of the election to approach the appropriate Election Petition Tribunal for redress.
He reportedly urged aggrieved parties to make use of the legal avenues provided by the electoral law, noting that the margin between the leading contenders made it important for any party with grievances to pursue them through the courts.
He also cautioned that none of the political parties involved in the election could claim to be completely free of controversy, stressing that the proper approach was to present any evidence of electoral malpractice before the tribunal.
Governor Adeleke was declared winner of the August 15 governorship election by INEC after defeating his major challenger, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Asiwaju Bola Oyebamiji, and other contestants.
