It was a bloody Monday in Osun State as an embattled chairman of Irewole Local Government of Osun State, Remi Abass, was allegedly shot dead by unknown gunmen at the local government secretariat in Ikire.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported yesterday that two other persons were killed in Iragbiji in Boripe LGA.
The state chapters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) traded words over the alleged killing of the three persons.
Members of both parties were locked in a battle for the control of some local government secretariats.
NAN reports that tensions had been building across the state over the Court of Appeal judgment regarding the sacked APC council chairmen and councillors.
While the PDP claimed that the February 10 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Akure, did not reinstate the sacked APC chairmen and councillors elected in 2022, APC insisted on their return.
Speaking with journalists in Iragbiji, Mr Korede Ajeigbe, the Commissioner for Government Affairs and Protocol, claimed that two PDP members were killed while trying to prevent APC members from taking over a secretariat.
Ajeigbe also said that six PDP members were seriously injured and were currently receiving treatment in the hospital.
APC, however, alleged that PDP members attacked its members while trying to enforce the Court of Appeal judgment.
Addressing a news conference in Osogbo, Mr Bayo Adeleke, a chieftain of the APC, claimed that one of the party’s prominent members was killed during the crisis.
He also alleged that another member of the party, Remi Omowaye, escaped an assassination attempt in Ilesa. Adeleke, a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, urged the state government to allow peace to reign by allowing the APC chairmen and councillors to return to office.
Another party chieftain, Mr Jamiu Olawumi, claimed that APC chairmen had resumed in 15 local governments of the state.
This claim, however, could not be immediately verified by NAN.
However, it was reported that the sacked chairman of Irewole LGA, Remi Abass, was killed at the local government secretariat in Ikire. Eyewitnesses said the attackers stormed the secretariat in broad daylight, firing multiple gunshots.
“It was sudden and chaotic. People ran for safety,” said a resident who requested anonymity.
The Osun State Police Command confirmed the incident and stated that investigations had begun.
“We are working to apprehend the perpetrators and restore calm in the area,” said Police Public Relations Officer SP Yemisi Opalola.
Abbas was among the local government chairmen sacked by the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo in November 2022.
•Police take over council secretariats
When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, CSP Yemisi Opalola, said she was yet to be briefed on the alleged killings.
Opalola, however, said police officers had been deployed to all the local government secretariats in the state to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
•Gov Adeleke sympathises with victims
The state Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has directed workers and politicians to avoid local government secretariats to avoid further bloodshed.
In a statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, Adeleke said only security agents would be allowed to keep watch at the secretariats. He condoled with the families of the victims of the crisis.
•Residents scamper to safety
Earlier yesterday, pockets of violence occurred in some local governments as members of the PDP and APC engaged in skirmishes over control of local government secretariats.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who was at the Ife East Local Government Secretariat in Ile-Ife reports that a crisis broke out when PDP members tried to resist APC members attempting to gain entrance into the premises.
The crisis resulted in sporadic gunshots while passers-by scampered for safety.
Police officers at the scene fled when they could no longer control the situation.
NAN reports that a pregnant woman scampering for safety fainted and later regained consciousness after water was poured on her.
The pregnant woman, who identified herself as Zainab, told NAN that she was on her way to buy food when she heard gunshots fired by some hoodlums.
A NAN correspondent, who suspected thugs were also manhandling, was rescued by some workers of the local government.
However, some police officers and other security personnel were keeping watch at the Osogbo and Olorunda local government secretariats to prevent hoodlums from breaking into the premises.
The state police spokesperson, CSP Yemisi Opalola, said police personnel had been deployed to local councils across the state to maintain law and order.
NAN reports that there had been a crisis between APC and PDP over the Court of Appeal judgement regarding the sacked APC council chairmen and councillors.
While the PDP claimed that the February 10 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Akure, did not reinstate the sacked APC chairmen and councillors elected in 2022, APC insisted on their return.
On Sunday, the state Governor, Ademola Adeleke, had alleged that members of the APC were planning to forcefully take over the 30 local government secretariats in the state. While addressing a news conference, Adeleke insisted that the Federal High Court in Osogbo sacked the council chairmen and councillors in two separate judgements.
The governor said that the Court of Appeal judgment did not order the reinstatement of the sacked chairmen and councillors
However, the APC chairman in the state, Tajudeen Lawal, held another press conference and asked the governor to comply with the court order and protect the reinstated council chairmen and councillors.
”Laws are not built on sentiments but rather on facts. The Appellate Court found the APC Appeal meritorious and allowed the appeal to be made in a unanimous decision, which sought, among others, reinstatement of the elected officers.
“Neither the state government nor the Peoples Democratic Party find any error in the judgment concerning which no appeal was filed. It is surprising, however, that the state government has begun to deploy so many tactics to avoid enforcement of the judgment which ought to be automatic,” he said.
