APC, Accord camps clash as Osun campaign records two deaths

Political tension in Osun State worsened on Wednesday as the governorship campaign season was hit by two deaths, one involving an Accord Party supporter allegedly shot dead in Esa Oke, and another involving an APC campaigner killed after a truck rammed into a party procession in Ede.

The incidents, coming less than two months before the August 15 governorship election, have deepened fears over the security situation in the state as the campaigns of Governor Ademola Adeleke of Accord and Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, APC, gather momentum.

Adeleke is seeking re-election on the platform of Accord, while Oyebamiji is flying the APC flag. Other candidates in the race include Najeem Salam of the African Democratic Congress and Adewale Adebayo of the Allied People’s Movement.

In Esa Oke, Obokun Local Government Area, Ajayi Aderogba, popularly known as Rogba, was reportedly shot dead on Tuesday evening by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.

His killing sparked protest in the community and immediately triggered accusations between the Accord and APC camps.

Residents who spoke anonymously said Aderogba was killed while preparations were ongoing for a campaign rally in support of Adeleke’s second-term bid.

The Osun State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the killing at the time of filing this report.

The spokesperson for The Imole Campaign Council, Pelumi Olajengbesi, accused a member of the House of Representatives and Director-General of the Osun State Governorship Campaign Council, Oluwole Oke, of making efforts to frustrate the planned programme in Esa Oke.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Olajengbesi said Aderogba was a committed supporter of Adeleke and was actively involved in preparations for the rally.

“Just yesterday, while we were preparing for a political programme in Esa Oke, Wole Oke made several efforts to frustrate the programme and prevent it from holding,” he said.

“Rogba, a young, happy and promising man from Esa Oke, and one of the foremost supporters of Governor Ademola Adeleke, was actively involved in the preparations, insisting that nobody would stop the programme.

“Rogba was gruesomely murdered because of his beliefs and political affiliation with Accord. This situation has shaken me beyond words.”

But Oke denied any involvement in the killing.

In a statement signed by his Senior Media Aide, Tunde Omolebi-Sunday, the APC campaign director-general described attempts to link him and the party to the death as false, misleading and inflammatory.

He called for a thorough investigation, saying preliminary accounts suggested that the incident may have been connected to clashes between rival groups and possible reprisal attacks.

“Such conclusions, made without any credible investigation or report from security agencies, are not only premature but deeply irresponsible,” the statement said.

“As a legal practitioner, he ought to understand the primacy of evidence, due process and responsible public communication.”

The statement also claimed there had been previous concerns in the community over the deceased’s activities and associations, including alleged links to cult-related conflicts and earlier security investigations.

“We, therefore, firmly state that Hon Oluwole Oke and the APC have no connection whatsoever to the death of Ajayi Rogba.

“Any attempt to link them to this tragic occurrence without substantiated evidence is false, misleading and must be rejected,” it added.

While the controversy over the Esa Oke killing was still unfolding, tragedy also struck in Ede, where AbdulRasaq Ahmed was killed after a truck rammed into an APC street campaign procession organised in support of Oyebamiji.

The incident occurred around the Oke Gada area of the town.

The Chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee of the Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji Campaign Committee, Remi Omowaiye, confirmed the incident, saying seven others sustained injuries.

“One person was killed in the accident. Seven others were injured, but one of them is in critical condition,” Omowaiye said.

The injured victims were said to be receiving treatment at private hospitals in Ofatedo and Ede.

An eyewitness alleged that the truck driver ignored traffic directives issued by officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps, who were managing traffic during the campaign.

“It was a sad incident and one that could have been avoided. The FRSC officials had directed vehicles to use one lane while APC members occupied the other.

“However, the truck driver drove into the lane we were using and rammed into the crowd. The young man was killed in the process, while several others sustained injuries and are receiving treatment at the hospital,” the eyewitness said.

The APC deputy governorship candidate, Benjamin Adereti, later visited the family of the deceased and called for a full investigation into the crash.

Adereti said the circumstances of the incident raised serious questions.

“We are still trying to unravel the reason behind this. The way the incident happened suggests that the truck deliberately rammed into our party members while they were campaigning in Ede,” he said.

“I want to call on security agencies in Osun and across Nigeria to conduct a thorough investigation into the immediate and remote causes of this incident.

“If this was a deliberate attempt by Ademola Adeleke and the Accord to stop us from forging ahead with our campaign, I can assure them we are unstoppable.”

He commiserated with the family of the deceased, saying, “May God console the family. We all know the pain of losing a child.”

The twin incidents have now thrown Osun’s governorship campaign into deeper anxiety, with Accord and APC trading accusations while security agencies are expected to determine the causes of the killing and the fatal crash.