Tension gripped Osun State on Monday as suspected political thugs clashed over the control of local government secretariats, triggering gunfire that sent residents into panic.
The violence erupted in multiple council areas, including Osogbo and Olorunda, where armed men reportedly stormed the secretariats as early as 8:00 a.m., shooting sporadically. Many students heading to school fled back home, while commercial drivers abandoned the affected routes.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that security operatives were deployed to the secretariats, preventing the hoodlums from gaining access. “There was heavy gunfire around the Olorunda council secretariat. It was a scary scene,” a local resident said.
It was gathered that the crisis stemmed from an attempt by sacked local government chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to reclaim their offices. However, loyalists of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and security forces repelled them.
A source in the Olorunda council area disclosed that “the sacked APC chairmen came with their supporters, but PDP loyalists resisted them. The situation escalated, and before we knew it, gunshots were everywhere.”
Similar violent confrontations were reported in other local governments, including Iragbiji, Odo-Otin, and Ife Central. In Ifelodun Local Government, a video obtained showed APC and PDP thugs engaging in a violent clash at the council secretariat, even in the presence of security operatives.
The clashes followed Governor Ademola Adeleke’s alarm on Sunday, accusing his predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola, of orchestrating a forceful return of the sacked APC chairmen.
Oyetola, in his reaction, urged Adeleke to respect a Court of Appeal ruling in Akure, which reportedly reinstated the APC chairmen. “The governor should uphold the rule of law by complying with the court order,” Oyetola’s spokesperson stated.
