PANIC AT #OSUNDECIDES2026: SPORADIC GUNSHOTS FORCE RESIDENTS TO FLEE WARD COLLATION CENTRE

Tension gripped parts of Osun State on *Saturday, August 15, 2026*, during the governorship election as *sporadic shooting forced residents, party agents and electoral officials to flee a ward collation centre* in a dramatic disruption of the process.

The incident, reported under *#OsunDecides2026*, added to growing concerns over security in the state ahead and during the polls.

According to reports, gunmen opened fire around the collation centre, sending people scampering for safety. Traders abandoned goods, while voters and officials ran in different directions to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

The development comes amid heightened political tension in Osun. Yiaga Africa had earlier classified *13 of the state’s 30 LGAs as high-risk* due to killings, violent attacks and political tension. The group noted that violence in the state had shifted from “coordinated shootings around multiple neighbourhoods to political abductions and then violence around state institutions, like local governments”

Security agencies had deployed *four officers per polling unit* and over *15,000 policemen* across the state to safeguard the election. Despite this, incidents of violence were recorded in hotspots including Osogbo, Irewole, Iwo, Boripe, Ife Central and Ife East

Stakeholders have continued to call for calm. A former lawmaker, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, urged political parties to rein in their supporters and stressed that _“no political ambition should be the cause of the death of any citizen”_. The police also appealed to residents not to panic, saying the heavy deployment was meant to prevent crises.

As at press time, normalcy was said to have been restored in the affected area, but the shooting has raised fresh questions about the safety of electoral officials and voters during collation — a critical stage of the election.

~Oracle of Peace