Osun Election: Davido Claims Soldiers Are Blocking His Entry Into State

Afrobeats star David Adeleke, better known as Davido, says he has credible information that soldiers are trying to stop him from entering Osun State as residents vote in Saturday’s closely watched governorship election.

In an early Saturday post on his verified X account, the singer said he had been reliably tipped off about the alleged move to bar him from the state, insisting that every Nigerian is entitled to freedom of movement at all times.

His claim comes just hours after the Nigeria Police Force rolled out a statewide movement restriction, in force from midnight Friday until 6 p.m. Saturday, as part of the broader security operation for the poll. Thousands of police officers and other security personnel have been deployed across Osun to keep the exercise peaceful.

Davido is a nephew of Governor Ademola Adeleke, the incumbent, and has been a vocal presence on the campaign trail backing his uncle’s re-election bid under the Accord Party. Governor Adeleke is defending his seat against a crowded field of challengers, chief among them Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, in an election being run outside Nigeria’s regular electoral cycle.

Reaction to Davido’s post was swift and divided online. A number of users argued the singer may simply have run into the same election-day movement curbs facing every other traveler in the state, while others suggested his profile as a high-visibility Adeleke supporter may have made him a specific target.

Former presidential media aide Bashir Ahmad was among the most vocal critics, brushing off Davido’s allegation as overblown. Ahmad pointed out that security agencies had already made the statewide restriction public knowledge well before the singer’s post, framing it as a routine precaution used in elections nationwide rather than something unique to Osun. He added that the constitutional right to free movement doesn’t give citizens license to bypass lawful security measures put in place to protect a credible election.

As of the latest reporting, there has been no independent confirmation — from the military or otherwise — that soldiers were specifically directed to stop Davido from entering the state.