Osun Park Shooting: Police Recover Second Body as Accord Chieftain Emir Is Buried

The Osun State Police Command has recovered a second body following the deadly shooting at the Mayfair Motor Park in Ile-Ife, while the remains of Accord Party chieftain, Olalekan Oyeyemi, popularly known as Emir Ajagungbade, have been laid to rest in Osogbo.

The latest recovery brings to two the number of people confirmed dead in the violence that erupted at the motor park on Sunday.

Oyeyemi was reportedly killed during a confrontation involving him and a faction of the National Union of Road Transport Workers led by a union figure known as Sibi.

A video that emerged on social media after the incident showed Oyeyemi lying face down in a pool of blood inside a vehicle.

Governor Ademola Adeleke subsequently confirmed the politician’s death through a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed. He also directed the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Zungura, to identify and arrest those behind the killing.

The incident has been linked to an alleged attempt by some transport union members to install Oyeyemi as the next Osun State chairman of the NURTW.

Providing an update on the investigation on Monday, the police spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, said the Mayfair Motor Park had been closed following the violence.

He said, “The governor has decided that the park should not operate. The park has not been operating. A corpse was also recovered by the police, and it has been deposited at the morgue.

“The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation. Those being mentioned in connection with the crime should go to the nearest police station to report themselves rather than going to social media to defend themselves.

“The Commissioner of Police has promised that all those involved will be apprehended and face the law, irrespective of who they are.”

Meanwhile, the remains of Oyeyemi were buried at his newly completed home in the Agunbelewo area of Osogbo, in accordance with traditional rites.

Traditionalists conducted the burial ceremony, which was attended by members of his immediate family, associates and priests.

Associates of the deceased who accompanied his remains from the Osun State University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, were reportedly asked to remain outside the premises while the traditional burial rites were conducted.

Tension reportedly arose at the hospital before the remains were released from the morgue after suspected hoodlums said to be associates of Oyeyemi allegedly attacked two hospital workers.

The workers were reportedly assaulted after the deceased’s associates discovered that they were using their phones to record events at the facility.

Normalcy was restored following the arrival of additional police vehicles carrying security operatives.

The controversy surrounding Oyeyemi’s death was further heightened by allegations that the Osun State Government had backed his emergence as the next NURTW chairman.

The Commissioner for Transportation, Sesan Oyedele, however, denied claims that he summoned NURTW leaders to his residence in Modakeke on Sunday and informed them that the government had endorsed Oyeyemi for the position.

Two Ile-Ife-based NURTW leaders, identified as Gbadagesin and Kazeem Akeem, had made the allegation in videos circulated on social media.

According to the two men, Oyedele invited them to his residence and told union leaders that the state government had endorsed Oyeyemi as the next state chairman.

But speaking with journalists, the commissioner rejected the allegation, maintaining that the person who made the video was not present during the meeting at which the issue was discussed.

“The person who did the video was not at the meeting I had with them. Had he been there, he would have known that what I told them was not what he said in that video.

“I was not in the meeting they had in Osogbo last week. After that meeting, which involved transport union members from various branches, they called me on Thursday and said they wanted to come and see me.

“I told them to come to my office on Monday (today), but they said they could come to my house.

“They came around 9 am on Sunday. When they got to my house, they told me that they had all agreed that Olalekan Emir should be the next chairman, and they wanted me to support them.

“I told them that since that was what they wanted, I would present their case before the governor, the Chief of Staff and others when he gets back to the state. That was our agreement before they left.

“It was about two hours after they left my house that I was called that Emir had been killed,” he said.

Oyedele appealed to residents to remain calm, assuring them that efforts were underway to resolve the crisis.