The sacked chairman of Irewole Local Government, Osun State, Remi Abass, has been shot dead by unknown gunmen at the local government secretariat in Ikire.
In the early hours of Monday, APC members besieged local government secretariats across the state to take over with the verdict of the Appeal Court.
At Irewole Local Government in Ikire, APC members converged around the secretariat with the plan to take over but were ambushed by armed hoodlums.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers stormed the secretariat in broad daylight on Monday, firing multiple gunshots.
“It was sudden and chaotic. People ran for safety,” said a local resident who requested anonymity.
Abbas, who was part of those reinstated, was killed beside the council, and his corpse was taken to the front of the local government area.
A 15-second video showed the deceased council boss in a pool of blood as onlookers sympathetically wailed his name.
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.
Abass was among the local government chairmen, elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, sacked by the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo in November 2022.
Meanwhile, two persons have also been confirmed dead in Boripe LGA of the state over the fracas that erupted when some hoodlums allegedly working for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, attempted to take over the council.
The victims, whose names were given as Ege and Igara, according to eyewitnesses, were shot dead by hoodlums.
It was gathered that Ege, who decamped from the APC to the PDP recently, was the only son of his parents, with his father also said to be a member of the PDP.
One other person whose name was given as Yinka, a photographer, was also shot and is currently in critical condition at an undisclosed hospital, it was reliably gathered.
Last week, Governor Ademola Adeleke said he received reports of a “sinister plot by elements within opposition parties to launch vicious attacks” on local government secretariats across the state.
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The governor, in a statement by Olawale Rasheed, his spokesperson, claimed that there were plans to target leaders of the PDP and senior officials of his administration.
The governor alleged that the plan was aimed at disrupting the forthcoming LG elections and create an atmosphere of chaos to push for the declaration of a state of emergency.
Also speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Adeleke accused Adegboyega Oyetola, the minister of marine and blue economy, of planning to cause mayhem in the state starting from Monday.
The situation has caused panic in the area as residents scamper for safety.
