Osun State Commissioner for Environment, Mayowa Adejoorin, has regained his freedom after spending nearly 24 hours in police custody over a shooting incident that left three people injured in Ilesa.
Adejoorin was arrested on Saturday after violence broke out during an All Progressives Congress (APC) street rally in the Isokun area of Ilesa West Local Government Area.
Among those injured was 14-year-old Tobi Ilesanmi, who was reportedly hit by gunfire near the rally venue.
The incident has sparked accusations between the APC and the Accord Party, with both sides offering conflicting accounts of what happened.
Police said Adejoorin was not arrested at the rally itself but was intercepted by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) while travelling through the area shortly after the shooting.
The Osun State Police Command spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, had earlier said three people were injured and taken to different hospitals for treatment.
“Three persons are confirmed injured, and they were taken to different hospitals. From the reports we have, they were shot at the rally scene. There was a rally in some part of Ilesa by the APC.
“The rally was on when they discovered a vehicle parked beside them bearing a particular plate number, OSHAO4, and some people identified as Amotekun personnel came out of the car and shot sporadically, and everybody ran for safety.
“So some brave men among those that were doing the rally chased those Amotekun personnel passengers. The one they were able to catch drew out a knife and tried to stab anyone who came close to him, and he used that opportunity to escape,” he said.
Ojelabi said the police tactical team closest to the area was immediately deployed after receiving a distress call.
According to him, the officers encountered a white Lexus 350 while responding to the incident and stopped the vehicle after noticing an Amotekun operative inside.
“We already have our tactical teams on the ground. We have over four IRT tactical teams on the ground posted to different locations. So the IRT that was closer to that place responded to that incident. On getting to the scene, they saw a vehicle that was approaching them, a white Lexus 350.
“On intercepting the vehicle, they saw an Amotekun personnel in the vehicle. So they apprehended the vehicle, the personnel and one other person in the vehicle. They brought them straight to the headquarters here. On interrogation, it was discovered that the other occupant is Honourable Mayowa Adejoorin.
“So they brought them to Osogbo for questioning to know the level of involvement in this incident because the exhibits recovered at the scene of that shooting are four expended cartridges, and the gun recovered from the Amotekun is a pump-action gun. So the investigation is ongoing,” Ojelabi said.
The APC Campaign Council Chairman for Ilesa West, Folarin Fafowora, however, gave a different account of the incident.
Fafowora said the rally was nearing its end when the shooting suddenly occurred.
“We were almost rounding up when, suddenly, a car overtook us. The occupant of the car was the Chief Whip of the Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Wale Akerele. I was even surprised that people were embracing him, but before I could know what was happening, there was a gunshot. To my disbelief, people started running here and there. I couldn’t believe it.
“Then he left, and people immediately started scrambling for safety. As we got to the roundabout around the Isokun area, the panic and confusion among the people had really disrupted the rally.
“From nowhere, they suddenly came out of the vehicle and started shooting. In fact, I had to hide to avoid being hit. By the time I regained my consciousness, hell had already been let loose. But somehow, because of the Amotekun vehicles that were escorting him, he disappeared almost immediately. It was very shocking. The policemen were there when he came back, while they were shooting. He was being protected by the Amotekun personnel, and they were also shooting.”
Attempts to obtain a response from Akerele were unsuccessful, as calls to his phone did not connect. He had also not responded to a WhatsApp message sent to him as of the time the report was filed.
The Imole Campaign Council, through its spokesperson, Pelumi Olajengbesi, also rejected the allegations against its political camp and accused APC supporters of being responsible for the violence.
“The video of Ilesa shooting is all over the place. Members of the APC were shooting in the name of the rally, destroying properties that belong to the Accord members. They destroyed the Accord Party secretariat, and the videos are all over the place.”
Providing an update on Sunday, Ojelabi confirmed that Adejoorin had been released after questioning.
However, the police spokesperson said he could not establish whether the Amotekun operative arrested alongside the commissioner had also regained his freedom.
When asked if Adejoorin had been released, Ojelabi simply said, “The commissioner has been released. He was released today but the Amotekun that was arrested with him, I can’t confirm his release yet because I am still gathering my facts.”
Police investigations into the shooting and the circumstances surrounding the arrest remain ongoing.
