Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, yesterday confirmed that hoodlums attacked the convoy of Governor Ademola Adeleke shortly after he left the palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun Oyetunji Laaroye II.
Adeleke, who had earlier received his Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osogbo, visited the monarch at his Ojaba palace to express his appreciation following his re-election.
The governor, candidate of the Accord Party, was re-elected on Saturday with 511,067 votes, defeating the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Asiwaju Bola Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815 votes.
Alimi said the attack occurred as the governor’s convoy was leaving the palace, adding that the hoodlums shot sporadically before the governor’s security personnel repelled them.
“They are hoodlums, and the governor’s security repelled them. They attacked the governor’s convoy at Ataoja’s palace. No casualty,” Alimi said.
Tension gripped the area following the shooting, which occurred between 3:50 p.m. and 4:10 p.m., shortly after Adeleke left the palace hall where he had met the monarch.
An eyewitness, Kola Bolomope, a trader in Oja Oba, Osogbo, said the governor and his entourage were received by Oba Oyetunji, adding that Adeleke reportedly presented his Certificate of Return to the monarch.
“I was outside my shop when the governor’s convoy came out, but suddenly, some hoodlums in a Sienna car came and started shooting sporadically, thereby causing panic, with people scampering for their lives.
“However, the security details of the governor repelled the attack and the hoodlums ran away,” he said.
A bus driver, simply identified as Kazeem, who was caught in the melee, also said the attack was targeted at the convoy.
The incident caused traders and residents around the palace to shut their businesses and flee to safety. A trader also claimed that the attackers damaged part of the palace gate.
The suspected gunmen reportedly moved towards the Osogbo Central Mosque before escaping through the Ita-Olokan axis of the Osogbo-Ilesa Road.
However, Adeleke’s nephew and music star, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, dismissed the claim that the attack was directed at the governor.
Reacting on his X handle, Davido, who had posted photographs of himself and relatives in the governor’s entourage during the palace visit, said: “Lies, it was a fight outside the palace that had nothing to do with us. The people love Excellency.”
Man, 60, Shot Dead After Adeleke’s Visit To Ataoja — Police
A 60-year-old man, Tajudeen Yusuf, was shot dead by suspected hoodlums at Ita-Olokan area of Osogbo, Osun State, shortly after Governor Ademola Adeleke visited the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun Oyetunji, at his palace.
The Osun State Police Command, which confirmed the incident yesterday, said it had commenced a full-scale investigation and launched efforts to apprehend those responsible.
In a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, said the command received information about the shooting at about 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
Ojelabi said preliminary investigation indicated that Adeleke, accompanied by his nephew, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, had earlier paid a courtesy visit to the monarch.
