A tear gas incident at a Registration Area Centre in Modakeke, Osun State, triggered confusion on election day after videos circulated online suggesting that police officers had used the chemical agent to disrupt voting.
The Osun State Police Command has rejected that account, saying the canister was discharged accidentally by an officer who was attempting to ease himself at the centre.
The incident occurred at Modakeke Ward 10 in Ife East Local Government Area, according to the command, but not at a polling unit where voters were casting their ballots. The police said it happened at the Registration Area Centre, where personnel deployed for the governorship election were stationed.
The clarification came after videos from the area spread across social media, with claims that security personnel had fired tear gas at voters.
The command said those claims were false and misleading, while acknowledging that the conduct of the officer involved was unacceptable.
“The incident did not take place at any polling unit. It occurred at the Registration Area Centre and was the result of negligence on the part of an officer who was attempting to ease himself,” the police said.
The officer was immediately apprehended, according to the command, which said an investigation was underway to establish the circumstances surrounding the discharge and determine whether there were any other motives behind it.
The distinction between a Registration Area Centre and a polling unit is important in understanding the incident.
RACs are used as operational bases for election personnel and materials before deployment to polling units. Voting itself takes place at designated polling units.
The police therefore maintain that the tear gas was not deployed at a location where voters were gathered to cast their ballots.
The command also said officers deployed to polling units are not permitted to carry arms within a specified radius of polling units, citing electoral security procedures as further evidence against the claim that the incident was an attempt to prevent voting.
That explanation does not make the incident insignificant.
An accidental discharge of tear gas at an election related security facility can cause panic, particularly when political tensions are already high and videos can circulate online before authorities establish what happened.
The police described the officer’s conduct as “highly condemnable” and said it fell below the standard expected of personnel of the Nigeria Police Force.
It said the officer would face appropriate disciplinary action in accordance with police regulations.
The command also apologised to residents and election stakeholders who may have been affected by the incident.
Its response reflects a broader challenge facing security agencies during elections: incidents that might ordinarily be treated as isolated operational mistakes can quickly acquire political significance when they occur during voting and are recorded on video.
In this case, the police have sought to draw a clear line between the accidental discharge and the allegation that officers deliberately targeted voters.
The investigation will determine whether the command’s initial account fully explains what happened.
The incident occurred as Osun voters went to the polls to elect a governor in a contest involving incumbent Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji and other contenders.
Security has been a significant concern ahead of the election. INEC’s Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner, Oluwatoyin Babalola, had earlier said the commission identified 385 security flashpoints and about 200 difficult terrain locations across the state’s 30 local government areas.
Those figures do not mean that violence occurred at all the identified locations. Rather, they indicate areas that electoral authorities considered to require additional security attention.
Against that background, reports of tear gas being fired at voters were capable of causing immediate concern, particularly when the initial claims circulated without the police explanation.
The Modakeke incident therefore illustrates the importance of establishing the location, circumstances and sequence of events before drawing conclusions from election day videos.
The police have provided an initial explanation and confirmed that the officer involved was arrested. The command has also said an investigation is continuing.
Until that process is completed, the available information establishes that tear gas was discharged at the RAC, that the police attribute the discharge to negligence, and that the officer involved is facing disciplinary action.
It does not independently establish that the officer intended to interfere with voting.
The episode also shows why election day information requires careful verification. A video showing panic or the presence of tear gas may establish that an incident occurred, but it may not by itself establish where it happened, who caused it, why it happened or whether it was connected to the electoral process.
For voters and observers, those distinctions matter.
The Osun election is being conducted under heightened scrutiny, and the credibility of the process depends not only on the conduct of political parties and voters but also on the behaviour of security personnel deployed to protect the exercise.
For now, the police position is that what happened in Modakeke was negligence, not an attempt to stop people from voting.
The ongoing investigation is expected to provide the fuller account.