Governor Adeleke of Osun State.

Gunshots as Hoodlums Attack Adeleke’s Convoy in Osogbo

By Frontline Reporters

OSOGBO — Tension gripped Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Wednesday as suspected hoodlums engaged security personnel attached to the convoy of Governor Ademola Adeleke in a gun battle at the palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji.

The incident occurred shortly after Adeleke received his Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission and proceeded to the monarch’s palace to celebrate his electoral victory.

Sources at the palace said the suspected hoodlums had allegedly taken up positions around the area in an unregistered Toyota Sienna before the governor’s arrival.

According to one of the sources, some of the men were involved in a heated argument shortly before gunshots rang out. The motive behind the altercation and the intended target of the shooting, however, remained unclear.

A shop owner near the palace, Laide Misture, said the gunfire began a few minutes after the governor and his entourage entered the palace.

“The guys were shooting from inside the main gate while the governor’s security team responded from inside the palace.

“The shooting was intense for almost three minutes before the hoodlums fled in their vehicle before the governor’s convoy could exit the palace,” Misture said.

Confirming the incident, the Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, acknowledged that gunshots were fired as the governor and his entourage were preparing to leave the palace.

Alimi said the governor’s security personnel responded by engaging the suspected hoodlums, but noted that the circumstances that triggered the shooting remained unclear.

“It is true there were gunshots when we were exiting the palace and the governor’s security team had to go and engage them. But the circumstances that led to the shooting in the first place, we do not know,” he said.

The commissioner added that officials only learnt that an altercation had occurred between some groups outside the palace shortly before the shooting.

“We only heard that there was an altercation between some groups outside the palace, and we don’t know what caused it or which groups were involved,” Alimi said.

No official confirmation of casualties was immediately available as of the time of filing this report, while security authorities were expected to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.