At about 7 pm on August 15, 2026, Mr Ayodele Oluwafemi, a reporter with TheCable online newspaper, was assaulted by five men suspected to be political thugs while he was covering the voting exercise taking place at the polling unit serving Mr. Bola Oyebamiji, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the Osun State governorship election.
According to media reports, although the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) guidelines stipulate that voting should end at 2:30 pm, it, however, extended until the night as several voters were unable to cast their ballots by the official closing time. Mr Oluwafemi therefore decided to document how accreditation and voting were being conducted in the dark, with electricity being provided by a medium-sized generator.
A few seconds after he had taken a video shot of the development, two men approached him and questioned his presence at the polling unit at that hour. He told them he was a journalist and was there in the morning when the election started, and also showed them his INEC-issued identity card, which he hung around his neck.
Immediately, one of the thugs snatched and pulled his identity card from his neck, grabbed his shirt, and they began to rain slaps on him. The reporter said three other thugs later joined in the assault.
“I’m not here alone,” the journalist allegedly shouted, pointing to a fellow journalist from another newspaper who was sitting under one of the canopies at the polling unit.
Mr Oluwafemi said that initially, two police officers stationed around the polling unit who witnessed the assault did nothing to intervene despite his repeated pleas and shouts for their intervention. After some minutes, however, one of them eventually attempted to shield him from the attackers.
The journalist said that despite the police man’s intervention, the men continued hitting him. One of the men demanded that he hand over his phone and told the police officer that they would not allow him to leave the polling unit until they deleted all the pictures and videos from it.
At this point, he took to his heels, but his attackers chased after him
He said he ran inside a police van stationed on the road beside the polling unit. However, one of the police officers inside the van pushed him out, and he fell on the ground. His attackers, who were on his heels, caught up with him and began to kick him. At this point, a group of police officers formed a shield around him, while the police team lead inquired about what was happening.
One of his attackers claimed that Mr Oluwafemi was not a journalist and that they suspected his presence at the polling station. He was then asked to present his identity card, and he informed the police that the accreditation card issued by INEC had been seized by his attackers. He thereafter searched his bag and brought out his The Cable’s identity card, after which the men left the scene and returned the INEC-issued accreditation.
Before he left, the police team lead asked him: “What are you doing in this polling unit by this time? All the journalists have left since the afternoon.” He then instructed the journalist to leave the location, saying the men were angry with him.
