A video has been widely circulated online with the claim that officers of the Nigeria Police invaded a Registration Area Centre (RAC), shooting tear gas to disrupt the distribution of election materials in Modakeke in the ongoing 2026 off-cycle governorship election in Osun State.
A post by a verified X user identified as Nelly Agwu, states “ #OsunElection Some police men tear-gas a RAC center just to carry election materials. The people in Modakeke ward 10 in Ife East. Is this an election?”
Another verified X user, Olalekan Badmus, shared the same video with the caption, “@PoliceNG, there is an allegation that some of your men in this video just invaded a RAC centre in Ife East Local Government Ward 10 (Modakeke ward 3) and fired tear gas to disrupt distribution of election materials at a RAC centre. The materials have been allegedly carted away.
Please investigate and act now to protect a credible electoral process in Osun state.
#OsunDecides2026”
The video has been shared by multiple social media bloggers, with some claiming it shows disruption of a polling unit in the ongoing Osun guber election.
CLAIM: Police officers invaded a RAC and fired tear gas to disrupt the distribution of election materials in Modakeke Ward 10.
VERIFICATION:
Checks show a longer version of the viral footage where a woman can be heard cursing the police officers and alleging that they fired tear gas at people at the RAC. She further claims that the incident forced INEC ad hoc staff to flee and that election materials were taken away.
In the video, the woman says, “Come and see useless policemen. This is Modakeke Ward 10. There was no fight; they came and started shooting tear gas at people. All the INEC ad hoc staff have fled. The election materials have been taken away.”
A review of the video confirms that armed police officers were present outside the RAC but doesn’t capture the particular moment the tear gas was discharged at the location. Also, the footage alone does not establish that the officers were charging at people in an attempt to disrupt the election process.
In a statement shared on X, the Osun State Police Command explained that the tear-gas discharge was accidental. According to the command, the incident resulted from the negligence of a police officer who was attempting to ease himself.
VERDICT: MISLEADING
We can confirm that while the footage is real, the viral claim misrepresents the circumstances of the tear gas discharge by presenting an alleged accidental discharge as a deliberate police action to disrupt the election material distribution process.
Leave a Reply