Police Say Isan-Ekiti Violence Not Connected to Election

The police have said the recent violence in Isan-Ekiti is not linked to the ongoing governorship election. They clarified that the incident had nothing to do with the electoral process.

Abayomi Shogunle, the Commissioner of Police for the Ekiti State 2026 Governorship Election, shared the news on X on Saturday. He explained that the violence came from a community football match.

On Friday night, reports emerged of violence in Isan-Ekiti, including an attack on a police station. This happened just before the Ekiti State governorship election, which was set to take place on Saturday.

Isan-Ekiti is in the Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State.

Isaac Fayose, the brother of former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, revealed the situation in an Instagram post on Friday. He shared details about the police station being attacked during the unrest in the community hours before the election.

In his post, he included a video and wrote: “One killed, Police station torched as political violence erupts in Isan-Ekiti, a few hours to gubernatorial election. Ekiti youths are angry. Say no to rigging and intimidation.”

The video showed a damaged police station. A voice, believed to be from one of the attackers, was heard saying, “We don’t need police in Isan, no more police in Isan.”

Despite these events, Mr Shogunle made it clear that the violence was not about politics. He said, “The incident at Isan-Ekiti last night is non-election/political related. It was as a result of a football match in the community.”

The police chief also mentioned that they are working to manage the situation and reduce the tension. He confirmed that voting would still take place as planned.

“Necessary containment and de-escalation measures put in place, calmness restored. Voting would go ahead this morning in the town as scheduled,” Mr Shogunle added.