APC, Accord Party trade blame over Osun Motor Park crisis

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused Governor Ademola Adeleke's administration of backing alleged hoodlums responsible for a violent incident in Ikire. The APC claims that five individuals were killed and several police officers were assaulted during the unrest on Monday.

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As we speak, Ikire has been turned into a theatre of bloodshed by armed thugs openly aligned with the Accord Party and operating under the political umbrella of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration.

According to Oluwafunsho Fagbohugbe, Chairman of the Osun APC Media Cluster, the crisis erupted when suspected hoodlums, allegedly aligned with the Accord Party, attempted to forcibly take control of a motor park. Fagbohugbe stated that three commercial drivers and two passers-by lost their lives in the ensuing chaos, which he described as a "state-backed political terror."

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Earlier today at Naira and Kobo Junction in Ikire, these sponsored gangsters launched a violent assault to forcefully hijack local transport hubs. In the process, innocent commuters, a commercial driver, and passing travellers lost their lives in cold blood, creating widespread terror and bringing economic activities in the town to a chaotic halt.

Conversely, the Osun State Accord Party Chairman, Victor Akande, refuted these allegations. In a statement, Akande accused the Divisional Police Officer of the Irewole Division, Bamidele Olatona, of instigating the violence. Akande claimed the DPO fired shots without provocation, acting unprofessionally. He asserted that no crisis existed at the park prior to the DPO's alleged actions. The Accord Party suggested the incident was part of a pattern of conduct in the Irewole Local Government Area that predates the election period.

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This was not a mere street brawl. It was a calculated, armed attack on public safety and constitutional authority. When the Divisional Police Officer of the Irewole Police Division responded to a distress call after an APC member was abducted and taken to a motor park for torture, these hoodlums turned their weapons on law enforcement. Officers were assaulted.