Davido alleges soldiers blocking Osun entry ahead of election

Afrobeats superstar Davido has accused soldiers of trying to block his entry into Nigeria's Osun State on Saturday, as residents prepared to vote in the governorship election. Davido took to his verified X account early Saturday to claim he had been reliably informed of the soldiers' intentions.

"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," he wrote. His allegation surfaced hours after the Nigeria Police Force announced a statewide restriction of movement for the election. This restriction began at midnight Friday and was set to end at 6 p.m. Saturday, with thousands of security personnel deployed across the state.

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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, whose uncle Ademola Adeleke is the incumbent governor seeking a second term, has been a vocal supporter in his re-election campaign. The singer's claim sparked debate online. Some users suggested the alleged restriction was part of general election security measures. Others expressed concern that high-profile supporters of the incumbent might face targeted limitations.

Former presidential media aide Bashir Ahmad dismissed Davido's claim as "dramatic." He argued that the movement restrictions were widely announced and are standard security practice during elections. "So the right to freedom of movement does not mean ignoring lawful security measures put in place to ensure a peaceful and credible election," Ahmad stated.

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You are just dramatic, @davido. It has been widely announced by the security operators that movement in and around Osun will be restricted from 12 midnight today until 6 pm today due to the election and this is a standard security measure during elections anywhere not peculiar to Osun. So the right to freedom of movement does not mean ignoring lawful security measures put in place to ensure a peaceful and credible election.