‘This Won’t Happen’ — Davido Alleges Soldiers Tried to Stop Him From Entering Osun

Afrobeats superstar, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has raised concerns over an alleged attempt by soldiers to prevent him from entering Osun State as voters head to the polls in Saturday’s governorship election.

Davido, who is a nephew of incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke, made the allegation in a post on his verified X account in the early hours of Saturday.

According to the singer, he was informed that soldiers were attempting to block his access to the state.

“I’ve been reliably informed that soldiers are trying to prevent me from entering Osun tomorrow, this won’t happen, every citizen of Nigeria has the right to movement at any point of time,” Davido wrote.

His claim comes against the backdrop of a movement restriction already announced by security authorities ahead of the election.

The Nigeria Police Force had announced restrictions on movement across Osun State from midnight on Friday, August 14, until 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 15, as part of measures aimed at ensuring a peaceful and orderly election.

Thousands of police officers and other security personnel have reportedly been deployed across the state to maintain security during the exercise.

However, Davido’s allegation has sparked debate over whether the reported attempt to stop him was part of the general election-day security measures or a targeted restriction against a prominent supporter of the incumbent governor.

Davido has been actively involved in Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election campaign under the Accord Party. The governor is seeking a second term and faces opponents including the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.

Reacting to Davido’s post, former presidential media aide Bashir Ahmad dismissed the singer’s complaint as “dramatic,” pointing to the previously announced movement restriction.

Ahmad argued that the restriction was a standard election security measure and was not specifically directed at Davido.

He maintained that the constitutional right to freedom of movement does not exempt anyone from complying with lawful security measures introduced to safeguard an election.

The controversy therefore leaves a key question hanging: was Davido being subjected to the same movement restriction applicable to residents and visitors across Osun State, or was there a separate attempt to specifically prevent him from entering the state?

As voting gets underway, attention is now likely to remain focused on the implementation of the security measures and whether Davido’s allegation will receive any official clarification from the relevant security authorities.