Soldiers blocked music star Davido from entering Osun State during the governorship election, as a 42-hour movement restriction enforced for the vote drew national attention and public debate over access and security measures.
Voters in Osun State cast ballots Saturday in a contest featuring three principal candidates: Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, and Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress.
The election drew a tight three-way race, with each party fielding a candidate considered competitive by political observers tracking the contest ahead of Saturday’s poll across Osun State’s local government areas and voting centers.
A 42-hour movement restriction took effect from midnight on Friday, running through 6 p.m. on election day. Security authorities put the measure in place to maintain order and protect the integrity of the voting process across the state, applying the curfew uniformly to all persons seeking to enter or move within Osun during the designated window.
Davido, the Nigerian music star with a large domestic and international following, said soldiers barred his entry into Osun State during the restriction period. He made the claim publicly, drawing immediate reactions from commentators and public figures across Nigeria who debated whether the enforcement was appropriate or excessive.
Journalist Bashir Ahmad responded to Davido’s claim, explaining that the movement curfew was a standard security measure that applied to everyone and that no individual could ignore the restriction regardless of public profile or personal ties to the state.
Ahmad’s position framed the restriction not as a targeted action against Davido but as a blanket enforcement order covering all movement into and within Osun State during the designated curfew window covering the election period.
President Bola Tinubu urged transparent voting and called on security agencies to ensure a peaceful process. His statement came as security personnel ramped up surveillance operations across Osun State to deter disruption and monitor polling activity at voting centers throughout the state.
Security agencies increased their operational presence across the state in response to the election. Officials deployed personnel to polling units and movement corridors as part of efforts to enforce the restriction and maintain calm throughout Saturday’s vote.
The movement restriction, spanning 42 hours from midnight Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday was one of the more significant security decisions surrounding the election. Authorities structured the window to cover the eve of voting through the conclusion of the official balloting period.
Davido has a personal connection to Osun State. Governor Ademola Adeleke, the Accord Party candidate seeking to retain his seat, is Davido’s uncle, a family relationship that drew additional public interest to the singer’s attempt to enter the state and fueled speculation about his reasons for traveling there during the restricted period.
The three-way contest between Adeleke, Oyebamiji of the APC, and Salaam of the African Democratic Congress gave the election a competitive shape that kept political attention focused on Osun State in the days leading into Saturday’s balloting exercise.
Bashir Ahmad, identifying himself as a journalist, noted publicly that the curfew was not selective and that every person, regardless of identity, fell under the same movement restrictions imposed by security authorities for the duration of the election period.
President Tinubu’s call for transparency added a federal dimension to the election proceedings. His statement placed the presidency’s position on record as Osun voters moved to polling centers to decide the next holder of the state’s governorship seat.
The Osun governorship election, featuring Davido’s curfew claim, the 42-hour movement restriction, and the three-candidate race involving Adeleke, Oyebamiji, and Salaam, became one of the most closely watched electoral contests in Nigeria’s political calendar for 2026.
