Gunmen kill Osun reinstated LG chairman, multiple others

Gunmen have shot and killed Remi Abass, the reinstated chairman of Irewole Local Government, in Osun State. The fatal attack occurred on Monday when Abass arrived at the council secretariat with his supporters.

According to eyewitnesses, chaos erupted as armed assailants, suspected to be political thugs, launched a violent attack. The assault followed heightened tensions over a recent Court of Appeal ruling that members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) claimed had reinstated the sacked local government chairmen. However, the Osun State Government maintained that a Federal High Court had nullified their election, fueling a fierce power struggle over control of the third tier of government.

Amid the violence, security forces, including operatives of the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS), swiftly intervened and arrested several suspects linked to the attack. Efforts to get comments from Osun State Police spokesperson SP Opalola Yemisi were unsuccessful, as she did not respond to calls or messages.

Meanwhile, Osun State Commissioner for Protocol and Government Affairs, Soji Ajeigbe, confirmed that two members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), identified as Ege and Igara, also lost their lives in the bloody clash. He added that six more people were killed, though details surrounding their deaths remain unclear. The bodies of the deceased have been taken to the morgue, while several injured victims are receiving medical treatment.

The tragic incident comes just a day after Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke raised the alarm over an alleged plot to destabilize the state. At a press conference on Sunday, Adeleke accused Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, of attempting to illegally reinstate the sacked local government chairmen by influencing security agencies.

The governor warned that Oyetola’s alleged actions could lead to widespread unrest, emphasizing that the affected chairmen had already been removed by court rulings before his administration took office. He called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and prevent further instability in Osun.

As authorities continue investigations, the violent power tussle over local government leadership in Osun State has once again raised concerns over the growing trend of politically motivated violence in Nigeria.