The Osun State Police Command on Monday confirmed the recovery of another corpse from the Mayfair Motor Park in Ile-Ife, raising the death toll from the shooting incident at the facility to two.
The development occurred as the remains of Olalekan Oyeyemi, a chieftain of the Accord Party in Osun State better known as Emir Ajagungbade, were buried at his newly completed house in the Agunbelewo area of Osogbo. The burial was conducted in line with traditional rites.
Emir was reportedly killed on Sunday when a confrontation broke out at the Mayfair Motor Park in Ile-Ife between him and a faction led by another National Union of Road Transport Workers leader known as Sibi, according to The PUNCH.
Footage shared on social media after the incident showed the politician lying face down in a vehicle, surrounded by blood.
The death was subsequently confirmed by Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, through a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed. The governor also ordered the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Zungura, to ensure that the perpetrators were identified and arrested.
The killing has also been associated with alleged efforts by some members of the transport union to make Emir the next chairman of the NURTW in Osun State.
Providing further details on Monday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Ojelabi, disclosed that authorities had closed the motor park indefinitely following the violence.
He said, “The governor has decided that the park should not operate. The park has not been operating. A corpse was also recovered by the police, and it has been deposited at the morgue.
“The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation. Those being mentioned in connection with the crime should go to the nearest police station to report themselves rather than going to social media to defend themselves.
“The Commissioner of Police has promised that all those involved will be apprehended and face the law, irrespective of who they are.”
Meanwhile, traditionalists carried out the burial rites for Emir in the presence of members of his immediate family and priests.
Associates of the deceased who accompanied his remains from the Osun State University Teaching Hospital in Osogbo were reportedly asked to remain outside while the traditional rites were conducted inside the premises.
Tension had reportedly risen at the hospital before the remains were released from the morgue, following an alleged attack on two hospital employees by suspected hoodlums believed to be associates of the deceased. The workers were allegedly assaulted after they were discovered recording the proceedings on their mobile phones.
PUNCH Metro, which visited the hospital on Monday to monitor the situation, later observed the deployment of more police vehicles carrying officers to the facility. Their arrival helped to bring the situation under control and restore calm.
In a related development, the Osun State Commissioner for Transportation, Sesan Oyedele, has rejected allegations that he invited NURTW leaders to his residence in Modakeke on Sunday and informed them that the state government had approved Emir as the union’s next chairman.
The allegation was made in videos circulated online by two NURTW leaders in Ile-Ife, identified as Gbadagesin and Kazeem Akeem. They claimed that Oyedele had summoned union leaders to his residence and told them that the government had endorsed Emir for the chairmanship of the state chapter.
Oyedele, however, denied the allegation while speaking with PUNCH Metro. He argued that the individuals who publicly described the meeting were not present during the discussion concerning the leadership of the union.
“The person who did the video was not at the meeting I had with them. Had he been there, he would have known that what I told them was not what he said in that video.
“I was not in the meeting they had in Osogbo last week. After that meeting, which involved transport union members from various branches, they called me on Thursday and said they wanted to come and see me.
“I told them to come to my office on Monday (today), but they said they could come to my house.
“They came around 9 am on Sunday. When they got to my house, they told me that they had all agreed that Olalekan Emir should be the next chairman, and they wanted me to support them.
“I told them that since that was what they wanted, I would present their case before the governor, the Chief of Staff and others when he gets back to the state. That was our agreement before they left.
“It was about two hours after they left my house that I was called that Emir had been killed,” he said.
Oyedele urged residents to remain peaceful, assuring them that efforts were underway to settle the crisis and restore lasting calm.
