ONM-ABO, October 1, 2025
A federal police officer from Ethiopia’s ruling party forces has reportedly defected to the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) in Jimma Arjoo district, East Wallagga, citing disillusionment with the conduct of the Prosperity Party (PP) regime.
According to a statement provided to Arrata Biyyoolessa Oromiyaa by the local OLA commander, the defection took place on May 27, 2025. The officer, previously stationed at a federal camp in Jimma Arjoo, turned himself in to the OLA, handing over an AKM rifle.
Sources close to the case say the officer had been forcibly conscripted and subjected to minimal training before being deployed, a tactic reportedly used by the regime to bolster its increasingly overstretched security forces. The defector expressed revulsion at what he described as “criminal orders” and ongoing abuses committed under the guise of national security.
“This is not an isolated case,” the OLA commander noted. “More members of the federal army, especially those drawn from oppressed nations, are abandoning their posts, recognising the illegitimacy of this regime and standing with the Oromo people.”
The Oromo Liberation Army, which has waged an armed struggle for national self-determination, has seen a growing number of defectors from Ethiopian government forces in recent months. Analysts say the trend reflects deepening fractures within the state apparatus as popular resentment toward the PP government intensifies across Oromia and beyond.
No official comment has been issued by the federal police or Prosperity Party officials regarding the reported defection.
