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Today, Aug. 15, 2026, about 1,906,390 out of 2,339,233 registered voters in Osun State will head to the polls to elect their preferred gubernatorial candidate from 15 candidates. The South Western state has held seven gubernatorial elections since the start of democratic rule.
DUBAWA and its partners under the Nigerian Fact-Checking Coalition (NFC) are monitoring public interactions for misinformation and disinformation to verify. See the claims and verdict below.
CLAIM 1
CLAIM: An X user, @Boripe_, claimed (archived here) that APC thugs carted away election materials in Ada, Boripe LGA, Osun State.
FINDINGS: The Nigerian Fact-checkers’ Coalition (NFC) contacted the Osun INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Oluwatoyin Babalola, who said she had not received any report of such an incident. We also contacted the state’s Commissioner of Police in charge of election security, Samuel Etaifo, who said there had been no such report.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCE: Osun INEC REC and Osun CP Election
DATE: 15/08/2026
AUTHOR: Catherine Adeniyi
EDITOR(S): Lois Ugbede & Simbiat Bakare
CLAIM:2
CLAIM: An X user, @abdulmojeed_ola, claimed (archived) that Osun State Governor, Ademola Nurudeen Adeleke, has agreed to collapse his Accord Party structure to support the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salam, in today’s gubernatorial election, Saturday, August 15, 2026.
A similar claim was shared on Facebook here.
FINDINGS: The ADC, in a statement earlier today on Saturday, August 15, 2026, debunked the claim. It clarified that the party has not collapsed its structure or entered into any arrangement to support Governor Adeleke or the Accord Party. The ADC also added that Adeleke has not collapsed his structure into the party to support Salam.
A check of the Facebook page of Governor Adeleke’s Imole campaign council showed that it has not yet issued a statement regarding the claim. No reputable news organisation has confirmed this claim to be true at the moment.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCE: ADC Press statement
DATE: 15/08/2026
AUTHOR: Pascal Ibe
EDITOR(S) Bamas Victoria & Simbiat Bakare
CLAIM 3
CLAIM: An X user asserts (archived link) that 146 suspected imported thugs were arrested at an Osun lawmaker’s residence.
Similar claims were found on Facebook here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
FINDINGS: According to media outlets, the voters were reportedly carrying newly issued Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and were said to be camped at the residence of Hon. Abiola Ibrahim, a member of the Osun State House of Assembly representing the Irewole-Isokan Constituency.
According to Punch Newspapers, the Osun State Police Command confirmed the arrest of Hon. Abiola Ibrahim in connection with the incident. They also reported that 146 suspects were arrested.
VERDICT: CORRECT!
SOURCE: Leadership Newspapers, Daily Post, Punch
DATE: 15/08/2026.
AUTHOR: Lademi Aborisade
EDITOR(S) Bamas Victoria & Simbiat Bakare
CLAIM 4
CLAIM: Several X users have claimed that the APC distributed cash ahead of the Osun governorship election while sharing the same video.
In a post (archived here), @PO_GrassRootM wrote: “Osun APC candidate keeps distributing ₦1,000 notes to voters ahead of the election.” Another user, @NNasarawa1, posted the video (archived here) with the caption: “#RenewedHope How Cash Is Allegedly Being Distributed Ahead of the Osun State Governorship Election.”
A similar claim was found on Facebook here.
FINDINGS: The video, in circulation since August 13, 2026, shows a man wearing an AMBO campaign T-shirt handing N1,000 notes to a group of women. AMBO is the campaign name of Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, the APC governorship candidate.
Punch reported on the same video on August 13, two days before the election, noting that the development came as the APC held a mega rally in Osogbo, the state capital, in support of its governorship candidate.
VERDICT: CORRECT.
SOURCE: Punch Newspapers, Researcher Observation
DATE: August 15, 2026.
FACT CHECK AUTHOR: Blessing Muonwe
EDITORS: Bamas Victoria & Simbiat Bakare
CLAIM 5
CLAIM: An X user @salawueedris1 claimed (archived here) the police released a video of 33 “imported voters” from Ekiti and Ondo states arrested at Babs Hotel Ede.
Similar claims were found on Facebook here and here.
FINDINGS:
The Osun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Ojelabi, told the Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition that 33 people were arrested in Babs Hotel, Ede: 30 men and three women, for being brought in to vote.
He said they are still being interrogated, and many of them did not know who recruited them. While the Police said they could not confirm if the circulating video is genuine, a reverse image search led to a news report by Leadership newspaper. Leadership, with an image which bears similarities to the video, reported that the police said the suspects were brought in from Ondo State for unlawful electoral activities.
VERDICT: PARTLY CORRECT
SOURCE: Osun PPRO and Leadership Newspaper
DATE: 15/08/2026
FACT CHECK AUTHOR: Catherine Adeniyi
EDITOR(S): Lois Ugbede and Simbiat Bakare
CLAIM 6
CLAIM: Several X users, including @Onsogbu, @RealFikayomi66, and @RajiDraj, shared posts here, here, and here on August 14, 2026, claiming that the police arrested a fake party agent, a fake collation agent, and two election observers in Ila Orangun who were recruited by the Accord Party.
Similar claims were found on Facebook here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
FINDINGS: The posts were shared on Osun Guber election eve, August 14, 2026.
The INEC Manual for Election Officials states that collation officers and election observers are deployed and perform their election-related duties only on election day.
Therefore, the claim that individuals were arrested on election eve “posing as fake collation agents or election observers” raises questions of procedural inconsistency, as these roles would not yet have been operational in the field.
The video attached to the posts shows a crowd, police personnel, and some persons being taken away in vans. However, the location does not appear to be a polling unit or voting centre.
Nothing in the video identifies those arrested as fake collation agents or election observers, nor does it establish any connection between them and Accord Party.
In addition, no credible outlet has reported the incident as of the time of this publication.
VERDICT: Misleading.
SOURCE: INEC electoral guidelines, X pages
DATE: 15/08/2026.
FACT CHECK AUTHOR: Blessing Muonwe
EDITOR(S) Bamas Victoria & Ajibola Amzat
CLAIM 7
CLAIM: An X user, @mayegun180l5, claimed (archived) that Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke demanded the removal of the Commissioner of Police (CP) for the 2026 governorship election, Samuel Erale, after casting his vote on Saturday, August 15, 2026.
Similar claims were found on Facebook here, here, here, and here.
FINDINGS: NFC watched the coverage video of Governor Adeleke speaking after casting his vote but found no instance in which he called for the removal of the CP Election, Osun State, Samuel Erale.
In the video, Adeleke alleged that a police officer identified as “London” from Port Harcourt had been brought into Osun State to cause unrest and disrupt voting, particularly in his hometown, Ede.
The governor called on the Inspector-General of Police and other security agencies to remain vigilant and investigate the allegation.
However, the Osun Government had previously called for the removal of CP Ibrahim Gotan, who was the Commissioner of Police of the Osun State Command before the election.
Premium Times reported that, following concerns raised by the state government and political parties over Gotan’s neutrality, CP Samuel Erale Etaifo, was deployed to Osun as CP Election ahead of the governorship poll.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCE: NTA, DailyTrust, TheICIR , Premium Times.
DATE: 15/08/2026
AUTHOR: Pascal Ibe
EDITOR(S) Bamas Victoria & Simbiat Bakare
CLAIM 8
CLAIM: An X user, @alomogeo, shared images, (archived here,) claiming that US president Donald Trump was seen in Ede, Osun State, during the ongoing 2026 Osun governorship election, purportedly serving as an international observer.
FINDINGS: The Nigerian Fact-checkers’ Coalition (NFC) conducted a keyword search to determine whether any credible media reports or official sources had confirmed Trump’s presence in Nigeria to observe the Osun governorship election. The search yielded no credible reports confirming that Trump was in Nigeria or Ede for the election.
Multiple posts on the official White House X account reviewed by our researchers showed Trump carrying out official engagements in the US, with no indication that he travelled to Nigeria to observe the Osun election.
We subjected the images to a fake-image detection tool called Fakeimagedetector which returned a 100% probability that the images were computer-generated or digitally modified. An Error Level Analysis (ELA) of the images also revealed inconsistencies in JPEG compression, with brighter areas indicating regions that may have been altered.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCES: The White House X account, Fake image detector
DATE:15/08/2026
AUTHOR: Amarachi Onwuzulike
EDITORS: OPEYEMI KEHINDE AND MOTUNRAYO JOEL
CLAIM 9
CLAIM: An X user, @O_basslet (archived here) has posted a video alongside a claim that Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officials led thugs to attack Accord party agents in Ward 4, Unit 4 in Ikire, Irewole LGA of Osun State.
FINDINGS: Analysis of the audio-visual attached to the post revealed that individuals present said a popular person known as Abass led the group to attack them, rather than NSCDC officials.
A reverse image search of keyframes from the video by our researchers returned no data of the video online.
The Nigerian Fact-checkers’ Coalition (NFC) reached out to the spokesperson for the Osun State Police Command, Abiodun Ojelabi, to confirm if there’s any disruption in Ward 4, Unit 4 of Ikire town in the state. Ojelabi said there was no chaos in polling wards and units with the tag 4. He also noted that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Ikire town has been securing the Ward 4 in the town.
The coalition also reached out to the spokesperson for the NSCDC, Kehinde Adeleke, who debunked the claim, stating that nothing of such happened or was heard. She also mentioned that she had been going round some polling units to see to it that the election goes smoothly. Residents in Irepodun and Irewole local government areas also confirmed no chaos in the units.
VERDICT: MISLEADING
SOURCES: NSCDC, Osun Police, Residents
DATE: 15/08/ 2026.
AUTHOR: Zainab Abdulrasaq
EDITORS:
CLAIM 10
CLAIM: An X user, @SaliuAminu0001, claimed (archived here) that the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate in Osun State, Bola Oyebamiji, has won the state’s election.
FINDINGS: Recent updates from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) indicate that sorting and counting of votes are ongoing in various polling units across the state. NFC also checked the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal and found that about 2266 results, representing 60.22%, have been uploaded out of 3,763 expected results as at 6:10 PM.
Vanguard newspaper and Channels TV have also reported that sorting and counting of ballots in the ongoing Osun State gubernatorial election are ongoing.
However, neither INEC nor reputable news outlets have announced the winner of the Osun State election.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCES: INEC, Vanguard newspaper, Channels TV
DATE: 15/08/2026
AUTHOR: Cole Praise
EDITORS: Ajibola Amzat
CLAIM 11
CLAIM: On WhatsApp, Nigerians are sharing what they claim is a giveaway opportunity of N100,000 by Afrobeats singer David Adeleke (Davido) amid the ongoing Osun State governorship election, where his uncle, Ademola Adeleke, is seeking re-election.
FINDINGS: Davido was actively involved in Governor Adeleke’s re-election campaign, having been appointed chairman of youth mobilisation for the campaign council and publicly campaigned for his uncle. However, there is no credible evidence that Davido or Governor Adeleke announced a N100,000 cash grant for every Nigerian. The NFC found no record of such on the singer’s verified social media pages.
When checked, the NFC found that the link attached to the claim led to a suspicious website asking for the user’s account number and instructing them to share the link with five WhatsApp groups or 15 people on WhatsApp. According to the NFC, such engagement bait is a common feature of phishing scams targeting vulnerable Nigerians.
Section 121 (1)(a) of Nigeria’s Electoral Act 2022 criminalises the act of offering money or gifts to influence a voter or candidate.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCES: David Adeleke, FBI.gov website, NFC researcher
DATE: 15 August 2026
AUTHOR: Muktar Balogun
EDITORS: Opeyemi Kehinde and Motunrayo Joel
CLAIM 12
CLAIM: A WhatsApp user forwarded a text post (screenshot below) alleging that former Osun governors, Baba (Bisi) Akande and (Olagunsoye) Oyinlola were defeated in their respective polling units.
FINDINGS:
The Nigerian Fact-checkers’ Coalition (NFC) reviewed the results on the INEC IReV portal for the polling units mentioned. At Baba Akande’s unit (PU 12, Ward 4, Atogbade, Ila-Orangun), the APC secured 181 votes while Accord received 121, out of 316 total votes. Meanwhile, at former Governor Oyinlola’s unit in Court Hall I, Okuku, Odo-Otin LGA, Accord won with 125 votes against the APC’s 85, from a total of 220 ballots cast. Premium Times and The Nation also reported that Akande won his polling unit (PU) for the APC, while Oyinlola lost his PU to the ruling Accord party in the state.
VERDICT: PARTLY CORRECT
SOURCES: INEC REV Portal, Premium Times and The Nation.
DATE: August 15, 2026
AUTHOR: Samuel Agbelusi
EDITORS: OPEYEMI KEHINDE AND MOTUNRAYO JOEL
Claim 13
CLAIM: An X user, @Uno_009, has claimed (archive here) that INEC recorded zero votes for the Accord Party instead of 160 at Unit 9, Ward 8 in Ila Local Government Area of Osun State.
Similar claims were found on Facebook here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
FINDINGS: The Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition (NFC) contacted the Assistant Electoral Officer in Ila, Dada Adelani, who clarified that while there was truly an error during the initial count, it was corrected on the spot. He also confirmed that zero votes were never officially recorded for the Accord Party.
NFC checked the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal to verify and found that Ward 8, Unit 9 had 276 valid votes. The Accord Party received 160 votes out of the votes recorded; APC 111, ADC 1, ADP 1, NNPP 1, and ZLP 2.
Furthermore, an audio-visual review of the video attached to the post showed the ad-hoc staff explaining that there was an error and assuring voters that the results wouldn’t be altered.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCES: INEC ad hoc staff, INEC iREV portal
DATE: 15/08/2026
AUTHOR: Zainab Abdulrasaq
EDITORS: OPEYEMI KEHINDE and MOTUNRAYO JOEL