The Imole Campaign Council has alleged a clandestine plot to deploy fake operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, to target and intimidate top officials of the government and members of the Accord Party ahead of the August 15 governorship election in Osun State.

Spokesperson of the council, Comrade Pelumi Olajengbesi, in a statement issued in Osogbo on Sunday, alleged that no fewer than 25 prominent Accord chieftains and government officials had been marked for attack by the purported operatives allegedly working in the interest of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC.

According to him, intelligence allegedly obtained from the opposition’s Ilerioluwa campaign structure indicated that hooded men claiming to be DSS operatives had already been deployed to strategic towns across the state, including Osogbo, Ilesa, Iwo, Ikirun, Ede and Ile-Ife.

Olajengbesi claimed that the operatives were acting outside the authority of the Osun State Director of DSS and were allegedly operating as a “special squad from Abuja.”

The council further alleged that the operatives were coordinating armed thugs to destroy Accord campaign billboards and orchestrate attacks and booing of Governor Ademola Adeleke at selected locations within Osogbo and other towns.

It also alleged an increase in the inflow of arms into some parts of the state, particularly Ilesa, Osogbo, Ikirun and Ile-Ife, warning that the development could threaten peace ahead of the election.

The statement commended the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the South-West, DIG Abiodun Disu, for what it described as efforts towards ensuring fair policing in the state.

“We call on the Director-General of DSS to immediately investigate and halt this alleged unauthorised operation designed to drag the service into partisan politics,” the statement said.

The campaign council also appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene and cautioned against any action capable of turning Osun State into a political battleground ahead of the polls.

It maintained that despite the alleged threats, the Accord Party and its supporters would continue to operate within the ambit of the law while remaining vigilant in defence of democracy and public safety.