By David Akinadewo-Adekahunsi

The European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Election Observation Hub (EU-SDGN EOH) has reported 323 cases of electoral offences and irregularities in 726 polling units observed during Saturday’s Osun State governorship election.

The Hub, in its preliminary election-day statement issued Saturday afternoon, said the reported offences included 103 cases of vote trading, 12 cases of multiple voting, 28 cases involving the alleged inducement of polling and security officials, 38 cases of campaigning at polling units and 14 cases of voter impersonation.

Other reported irregularities were seven cases of misconduct by election officials, 31 cases of obstruction of voters and 85 cases involving exposure of ballot papers.

The observation group also recorded 38 security incidents as of noon, comprising 25 cases of thuggery, 12 attacks on electoral officials and nine cases of voter intimidation allegedly involving security personnel.

The EU-SDGN EOH said it deployed 823 accredited observers across the 30 local government areas of Osun State to monitor the election.

According to the group, voting was generally peaceful and orderly, with impressive voter turnout and effective crowd-control measures by election officials and security personnel in most of the polling units observed.

On the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the observers reported that 58, representing 7.9 per cent, of the 726 devices observed malfunctioned.

It said, however, that 41 of the 58 affected devices, representing 70.7 per cent, were subsequently rectified and accreditation resumed.

The Hub called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately deploy its Rapid Response Technology (RATECH) teams and backup BVAS devices to polling units where accreditation problems persisted.

It also urged INEC to ensure that Form EC8A is pasted at every polling unit at the end of voting and that the result is immediately uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.

The EU-SDGN EOH reported that election materials, including ballot papers, result sheets, BVAS devices, voting cubicles, registers of voters, official stamps and ink pads, were available between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. in 608, representing 83.7 per cent, of the observed polling units.

Polling officials arrived between 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. in 75 polling units, representing 10.3 per cent, while officials arrived between 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. in 42 polling units, representing 5.7 per cent.

One polling unit had not opened as of 11:00 a.m. because election personnel and materials had not arrived.

The Hub consequently urged INEC to deploy personnel and materials to polling units yet to open or reschedule the election where voting had not commenced by noon.

On security, the observers reported an average deployment of three security personnel per polling unit and said most security personnel conducted themselves professionally.

However, cases of alleged voter intimidation by security agents were reported at PU 29-10-10-005 at Igbon District Community School, Ejigbo; PU 29-26-01-002; and PU 29-30-06-015 at an open space opposite No. 22, Oke Ola Street, Okanla Area, Osogbo.

The Hub urged security agencies to maintain professionalism and neutrality, while keeping a visible but restrained presence at polling units and collation centres.

It also called for heightened security monitoring in areas considered critical risk zones, particularly during counting and collation, and urged security agencies to support anti-corruption agencies working undercover to detect vote trading.

The election observation group said the voting process was largely inclusive, with noticeable participation by women and persons with disabilities.

It estimated women’s turnout at about 59 per cent in the polling units observed, while more than 70 per cent of persons with disabilities turned up to vote in the 12 designated PWD polling units observed.

Women also constituted 36 per cent of polling officials and played significant roles as party agents.

The Hub urged INEC to continue monitoring the availability and use of priority voting and assistive devices for elderly voters, pregnant women and persons with disabilities.

The election environment was generally conducive for journalists and election observers, the group said, adding that no major incident involving denial of access to polling units had been reported as of the time of its statement.

Its fact-checkers had also identified and fact-checked about 11 false claims concerning alleged payment of INEC officials, arrests by the police and underage voting, among others.

The group said claims relating to alleged shooting and disruption of voting were still being fact-checked.

It urged the media to refrain from announcing results before official declarations by INEC at the appropriate polling and collation levels.

The Hub also called for real-time fact-checking to counter misinformation and disinformation as the process moves into the critical stages of vote counting and collation.

It urged political parties and candidates to restrict their activities to lawful observation and desist from intimidation and vote trading.

It also called on parties to challenge grievances through the appropriate tribunals and courts rather than resorting to protests or self-help.

Voters were urged to vote independently, reject inducements and report suspected vote-buying to INEC officials, security personnel or accredited observers.

The Hub said its observers would remain deployed at polling units and subsequently at collation centres to monitor counting, collation and transmission of results through the Registration Area, Local Government and State Collation Centre levels.

The EU-SDGN EOH said it would issue a post-election report after the declaration of results, providing a broader assessment of the conduct, credibility and outcome of the election.

The group urged all political parties and candidates to await the official outcome and pursue grievances exclusively through lawful and judicial channels, in line with the Peace Accord signed on July 30, 2026.

It described the Osun governorship election as a critical test of Nigeria’s new electoral legal framework and a potential bellwether for the 2027 general elections.