The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has accused the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke of aiding suspected hoodlums allegedly responsible for the violent attacks that occurred in Ikire on Monday.
The APC said five people were killed in the incident, while several police personnel were also assaulted.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo on the incident, the Chairman of the Osun APC Media Cluster, Oluwafunsho Fagbohungbe, said the crisis began when suspected hoodlums allegedly working for the Accord Party launched a violent assault to forcefully take over a motor park.
Fagbohungbe said three commercial drivers and two passers-by were killed in the melee.
However, the Osun State Accord Party Chairman, Victor Akande, while condemning the incident in a statement, accused the Divisional Police Officer of the Irewole Division, Bamidele Olatona, of orchestrating the mayhem.
Akande said there was no crisis or conflict at the park when the DPO allegedly opened fire, accusing him of acting unprofessionally and without provocation.
The media cluster chairman, however, insisted that the killings were part of a state-backed political terror allegedly orchestrated by thugs working for the Accord Party.
“As we speak, Ikire has been turned into a theatre 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 Junction 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,” Fagbohungbe stated.
The APC called on the Inspector-General of Police, the AIG, Zone 11, and the Osun State Commissioner of Police to immediately deploy maximum force to reclaim Ikire, secure all local government secretariats and recover all stolen police weapons.
Reacting to the allegations, Akande alleged that the latest incident was part of a pattern of conduct in Irewole Local Government Area that began during the pre-election period.
Akande noted that despite widespread violence in Ikire before the polls, the DPO consistently failed to arrest known perpetrators and allegedly harboured partisan thugs.
“Eyewitness accounts confirm that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Irewole Division, Mr Bamidele Olatona, personally stormed the public garage and opened fire sporadically into a crowd of unarmed civilians.
“There was no crisis or conflict at the said park. There was no takeover bid by any group. The normal park operation was ongoing when the DPO launched the attacks,” the Accord chairman said.
Calling on the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, the Osun State Police Command and the Police Service Commission to “take immediate action by ordering the prompt arrest, psychological evaluation, dismissal, and criminal prosecution of the DPO,” Akande said the Accord Party would continue to advocate peaceful coexistence in the state.
