Five people were reportedly feared killed and many others injured in Osun on Monday as a power struggle over control of local government secretariats between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) turned deadly, sparking panic and tension across parts of the state.
The crisis stemmed from last Monday’s Court of Appeal judgment in Akure, which purportedly reinstated the APC-elected chairpersons and councillors who were sacked in 2022.
While the APC maintained that the judgment explicitly reinstated the local government officials, the state government argued that it did not restore them to office.
However, attempts by some APC members to forcefully take over council secretariats led to violent clashes with PDP supporters who resisted the move, escalating tensions in several local government areas.
In Irewole Local Government Area, Ikire, the situation worsened when hoodlums allegedly killed former council chairperson Remi Abass during a confrontation. According to credible sources, Mr Abass and some APC members attempted to seize the Irewole Local Government secretariat to enforce the court ruling but were met with armed resistance. A gun battle ensued, resulting in his death and leaving many others critically injured.
Meanwhile, the state commissioner for protocol and government affairs, Soji Ajeigbe, alleged that two PDP members, identified as Ege and Igara, were killed by gun-wielding thugs working for the APC.
He claimed that “six others were killed while they were attempting to take over the secretariat. We have deposited the bodies in the morgue while the injured were receiving treatment at the hospital.”
Sources informed us that two persons were allegedly killed in Iragbiji, headquarters of Boripe Local Government Area, when supporters of APC and PDP clashed, just as two other persons were also killed in Olaoluwa and Isokan local government areas.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Osun State Police Command, Yemisi Opalola, said police officers had been deployed to the affected areas, adding that an investigation was already ongoing.
Similarly, there was tension and chaos in some other local government areas, namely Osogbo, Olorunda, Ilesa East, Boripe, and Ayedaade, as members of the APC attempted to take over the councils’ secretariats to enforce the Court of Appeal’s judgment.
When our correspondent visited the Irewole Local Government Secretariat, located in Ikire, on the Ibadan-Ife expressway, about 30 armed police officers and five patrol vans were sighted at the council’s frontage, just as a vandalised black Toyota Camry was stationed at the main gate.
At the Ayedaade Local Government Area, a sizeable number of youths converged on the front of the council building just as some operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were spotted a few metres away.
Meanwhile, Osun State governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has said that at least five members of the PDP were killed on Monday during the attempt by the APC to take over some local government areas forcefully.
He also directed Osun residents, including politicians, across political divides to stay away from the local government secretariats to protect public properties and avoid further bloodshed.
In a statement signed by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, Adeleke said, “I, therefore, direct all law-abiding Osun residents to stay away from the council secretariats, especially as they are expected to be under lock and key
“I equally condole families of victims of the APC’s illegal takeover bid, and the chaos unleashed across the state by the APC and their hired thugs. PDP lost five members, with several others wounded. Two of those members are from Iragbiji, Boripe local government. Another two were killed at Ola Oluwa Local Government. Another one was lost at Ikire. We must stop the bloodshed,“ the statement added.
The governor, however, assured residents of their safety and protection of lives and properties, affirming that he had directed security agencies to take charge of all local government secretariats.
Also, while addressing a press conference in Osogbo, an APC chieftain, Jamiu Olawumi, said, “Today our chairmen and councillors resumed in 15 out of 30, including Ilesha, Ife North, and Irewole, among others; even Ede South, which houses the governor’s private apartments, has resumed before 9 a.m.
He stated: “Surprisingly, the PDP started mobilising hoodlums to the secretariats to attack the chairmen who resumed offices at their various locations. The SSG also led thugs to the Osogbo Local Government area.
The Executive Director of Project Implementation at the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Remi Omowaiye, said on Monday he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt along the Osogbo/Ilesa road.
He disclosed that the incident occurred around 2:05 p.m. when he was travelling to Osogbo in front of the Ilesa West local government area.
Mr Omowaiye mobilised members of the APC in Ilesa to the Police Command Area Command to seek their protection so that the reinstated local government executives could resume councils.
Speaking to journalists, he said his driver and a police officer attached to him sustained gunshot injuries, stressing that “I was returning to Osogbo from Ilesha when we ran into an ambush in front of the Ilesa West Local government. They shot at where I was sitting on the bus, but the bullet shattered the side windscreen.
“My driver and police orderly sustained serious gunshot wounds. They have been taken to the hospital for treatment,“ Mr Omowaiye stated.