Tension gripped Ikire, the headquarters of Irewole Local Government Area in Osun State, on Monday after two people were reportedly killed in a fresh outbreak of violence linked to a clash between suspected political hoodlums and police officers.
The incident, which threw the community into panic and disrupted normal activity in parts of the town, was said to have happened amid rising tension around the local government secretariat and the popular Naira and Kobo Garage.
The exact trigger for the confrontation was not immediately clear, though one source said the hoodlums were seen on the expressway leading to both locations before the violence escalated. It was also gathered that some residents were allegedly held hostage by the suspected hoodlums, prompting calls to the police who moved in to restore order but were said to have been overpowered.
The Divisional Police Officer of the Ikire Police Division was subsequently said to have mobilised additional officers to the scene. The clash was said to have claimed the lives of two persons, who were reportedly hit by stray bullets.
The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called for an urgent investigation into the killings, demanding the arrest of those behind the violence and stronger action from security agencies to restore calm in the area.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday at the Tinubu/Shettima campaign office, the chairman of the APC Media Cluster, Oluwafunsho Fagbohungbe, alleged that armed thugs linked to the Accord Party and supporters of Governor Ademola Adeleke were responsible for the attack. He said the violence broke out after suspected thugs attempted to take control of the Naira and Kobo motor park.
According to him, innocent commuters — commercial driver and a passenger — were killed in the chaos, while economic activities in the town were paralysed.
Fagbohungbe said police officers were assaulted and service rifles were taken from them during the confrontation.
“We have called this emergency press briefing to bring to the immediate attention of the Federal Government, security agencies, and the public the disturbing state of state-backed political terror, murder and total breakdown of law and order currently unfolding in Ikire,” he said.
“As we speak, Ikire has been turned into a theater of bloodshed by armed thugs openly aligned with the Accord Party and operating under the political umbrella of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration.
“Earlier today at Naira and Kobo Garage in Ikire, these sponsored gangsters launched a violent assault to forcefully hijack local transport hubs. In the process, innocent commuters, a commercial driver and passing travellers lost their lives in cold blood, creating widespread terror and bringing economic activities in the town to a chaotic halt.
“This was not a mere street brawl. It was a calculated, armed attack on public safety and constitutional authority. When the Divisional Police Officer of the Irewole Police Division responded to a distress call after an APC member was abducted and taken to a motor park for torture, these hoodlums turned their weapons on law enforcement.
“Officers were assaulted, and service rifles were snatched from police personnel by known criminals, including a gunman identified as Soskid. Alongside Soskid, other identified field commanders of this violent operation include T. Banson and Ayewo, a notorious thug who is already on the wanted list of law enforcement.
“This gestapo-style operation is part of a dark historical pattern in Irewole Local Government that the state government has consistently shielded. We must remind the world that on February 17, 2025, the Chairman of Irewole Local Government, Honourable Remi Abass, was brutally murdered in a similar violent attack. To this day, no one has been brought to justice for that heinous crime, despite Accord Party chieftain Jide Jooda being repeatedly identified as the prime suspect. The failure of state authorities to prosecute past political killings has directly emboldened these same violent elements to unleash terror today.
“We have received credible information that this latest wave of violence in Ikire was allegedly coordinated and sponsored by Senator Lere Oyewumi, the Deputy Senate Minority Leader and Director-General of the Ademola Adeleke Campaign. Senator Oyewumi’s previous public utterances encouraging aggression against APC members have provided clear cover for these criminals. Today, those reckless statements have borne tragic results on the streets of Ikire.
“We state unequivocally that Governor Ademola Adeleke, as the Chief Security Officer of Osun State, has abdicated his constitutional oath by allowing state-linked thugs and wanted fugitives to operate with total impunity.
“The All Progressives Congress will not stand by while Osun is dragged into lawlessness. We make a direct call to the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 11, the Osun State Commissioner of Police, and other security chiefs. Security agencies must immediately deploy maximum force to reclaim Ikire, secure all local government secretariats, and recover all stolen police weaponry.
“We demand the immediate arrest and prosecution of T. Banson, Soskid, Ayewo, and Jide Jooda, along with their political sponsors, including Senator Lere Oyewumi. Where political actors are complicit in murder and treasonable attacks on police officers, the law must act without fear or favour.
“We commiserate with the families of those killed in Ikire today. We call on all APC members and residents of Osun State to remain calm, avoid reprisal actions, and allow security agencies to perform their duties. Osun State belongs to all its citizens, and street intimidation will never replace the rule of law,” he said.
But the Accord Party has countered the APC’s account, accusing the Divisional Police Officer of the Irewole Police Division, Bamidele Olatona, of personally opening fire at the Naira and Kobo Garage.
In a statement signed by the state chairman, Victor Akande, the party said eyewitness accounts showed that Olatona stormed the garage and fired sporadically into a crowd of unarmed civilians, killing a commercial bus driver, Saheed Akinrole, and an innocent passenger.
“There was no crisis or conflict at the said park. There was no take over bid by any group. The normal park operation was ongoing when the DPO launched the attacks,” the statement said.
It added: “This lethal outrage is only the latest in a long, horrific pattern of partisan brutality and systemic failure that has defined Mr. Olatona’s tenure in Irewole. The people of Ikire have not forgotten his shameful conduct during the pre-election and election periods, during which he functioned less as a public servant and more as an armed enforcement wing for political interests.
“Despite the widespread violence and loss of life that plagued Ikire prior to the polls, Mr. Olatona consistently failed to make a single arrest of known perpetrators. Instead, he openly harboured partisan thugs and provided official police escorts while they wrecked havoc and terrorised peaceful residents across our communities.
“The continued presence of an unhinged, heavily armed officer operating with complete impunity poses an immediate and dangerous threat to public safety in Irewole Local Government.
“We hereby call on the Inspector-General of Police, the Osun State Commissioner of Police, and the Police Service Commission to take immediate action by ordering the prompt arrest, psychological evaluation, dismissal, and criminal prosecution of DPO Bamidele Olatona.
“He must be investigated thoroughly and brought to book to face the full weight of the law for murder and abuse of office.
“Let this serve as a clear, uncompromising signal that partisan, compromised, and violent officers will no longer be allowed to turn their weapons against the very citizens they are sworn to protect,” it stated.
As at the time of filing this report, the Osun State Commissioner of Police was in Ikire to assess the situation and address the incident.