At least two people were feared killed on Monday following a violent clash over an alleged attempt to take control of a motor park at Naira and Kobo Junction in Ikire, Osun State.
The incident reportedly caused panic among residents and disrupted commercial activities in the area as rival political factions traded accusations over who was responsible for the violence.
Videos from the scene showed one man apparently lifeless inside a vehicle with an open wound on his head, while another image showed a man lying face down in a pool of blood.
Sources said drivers allegedly loyal to the All Progressives Congress had been operating the park before another group of drivers, reportedly sympathetic to the Accord Party, arrived at about 10:30am and allegedly attempted to take control of the facility.
An eyewitness said the development quickly degenerated into violence.
“A political thug said to be working for the All Progressives Congress and his team were at the motor park in Ikire around Naira and Kobo area when some political thugs from Accord stormed the area around 10:30am to take over the place,” the eyewitness said.
The source added that a newly donated Toyota Hilux belonging to the Ikire Divisional Police Station was damaged during the confrontation, with its windscreen smashed and tyres damaged.
Another resident claimed that an Accord member was shot during the violence.
According to the resident, the incident later took another dimension when Accord supporters allegedly went to the palace of the Akire of Ikire to complain about the alleged involvement of the Divisional Police Officer in the violence.
The resident said the police, however, claimed that members of the Accord Party had abducted the secretary of the Palm Oil Sellers Association in Ikire, and that an exchange of gunfire occurred while security personnel were pursuing the alleged abductors.
The Osun State chapter of the APC subsequently accused the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke of allegedly supporting hoodlums responsible for the violence.
The APC alleged that five people were killed and several police personnel assaulted during the incident.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo, the Chairman of the Osun APC Media Cluster, Oluwafunsho Fagbohungbe, claimed that the violence started when suspected hoodlums allegedly working for the Accord Party attempted to forcefully take over the motor park.
He alleged that three commercial drivers and two passersby were killed during the melee.
Fagbohungbe further alleged that the attackers turned on law enforcement officers after the Divisional Police Officer responded to a distress call concerning the alleged abduction of an APC member.
The APC called on the Inspector-General of Police, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 11, and the Osun State Commissioner of Police to deploy additional security personnel to Ikire, secure government facilities and recover any police weapons reportedly taken during the violence.
However, the Osun Accord Party Chairman, Victor Akande, rejected the allegations and accused a police officer of orchestrating the violence.
Akande claimed there was no takeover attempt or confrontation at the park when the alleged shooting occurred, accusing the officer of acting unprofessionally.
“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,” Akande alleged.
He further claimed that the latest incident was part of a pattern of alleged violence in Irewole Local Government Area during the pre-election period.
Akande accused the DPO of failing to arrest alleged perpetrators of previous incidents and demanded immediate action against the officer.
He called on the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, the Osun State Police Command and the Police Service Commission to investigate the allegations and take appropriate action if the officer was found culpable.
The Accord chairman also appealed for calm and reaffirmed his party’s commitment to peaceful coexistence in the state.
