APC Supporter Killed, Another Shot in Esa-Oke as Osun Guber Poll Violence Escalates

Party Claims 40 Members Dead Ahead Of Saturday Election | NBA, YIAGA Flag Over 70 Incidents, 29+ Deaths_

Tension is mounting in Osun State after an APC supporter, Ayegbo Oluwadele, was gunned down in Esa-Oke, Obokun Local Government Area, with another party member shot and in critical condition, just days to Saturday’s governorship election.

The killing has deepened concerns over pre-election violence that civil society groups and the NBA say has already claimed dozens of lives.

—Esa-Oke Shooting—

Ayegbo Oluwadele was reportedly shot dead around the Oluwole Oka family compound in Esa-Oke on Thursday. Another APC supporter, Taiwo Oluwadele, was also shot and is said to be in critical condition.

Ayegbo was the nephew of the Director-General of the APC Campaign Council, Rep. Busayo Oluwole Oke.

Osun Police Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Ojelabi, confirmed the killing but declined to give details on the circumstances.

—APC Alleges Targeted Attacks, Claims 40 Dead—

Spokesperson for the APC Campaign Council, Oluremi Omowaye, blamed rival political parties for the violence.
“Unfortunately, we lost Ayegbo Oluwadele. Another member of our party, while Taiwo is still in a very critical condition. It is sad that we are being killed while the governor is playing the victim’s card,” he said.

Omowaye alleged the party has “lost about 40 of our members” in recent weeks. He cited an attack in Ilesha days ago where “five people were shot. Four of them died, while one is in critical condition at the Teaching Hospital. One of them is still in the ICU. And what was their offence? They were putting on APC caps.”

He also listed three other APC members allegedly attacked in Atakumosa East LGA: Idowu Laide, Ebuke Emmanuel and Adebiyi Ebenezer.

APC chieftain, Kehinde Ayantunji, further accused a leading member of the state House of Assembly of attacking party members in Odo-Otin LGA and the party’s House of Representatives candidate, Francis Eniade, in front of Okuku Divisional Police Station.

The Osun Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi, denied the allegation that members of the Accord Party were behind the attacks.

—NBA: 73 Violent Incidents, 29 Killed Since May—

NBA President, Afam Osigwe, raised the alarm at a press conference in Osogbo, calling for security neutrality.

“Statistics show that there were about 73 reported election violence-related incidents. Also, one report has reported a death toll of about 29 between May and July,” Osigwe said.

He added that the violence “is not spontaneous. They are orchestrated; they are planned and coordinated.”

Osigwe identified Osogbo and Ilesa as flashpoints, accounting for “over 50% of the violence.”

“They should only carry out their statutory duties and not use their presence to aid any party, but to ensure the security of INEC officials and every other person,” he said.

—YIAGA: Over 35 Deaths, Security Neutrality In Question—

YIAGA Africa Executive Director, Samson Itodo, said “we have recorded over 35 deaths just in the buildup to this election. And all of these are just connected to the elections.”

He called the Osun poll strategically important as the last off-cycle election before 2027 and the first to test INEC’s downloadable PVCs.

“Senior political actors should observe restraint and using all sorts of threats and intimidation,” Itodo said, while expressing concern over security agencies’ neutrality.[stop]

He noted YIAGA met with the IGP last week, who “gave his assurances… we give him the benefit of doubt,” but urged officers at the operational level to remain professional.

—INEC Deploys 15 RECs, Says 1.9m PVCs Collected—

INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, said 15 RECs have been deployed to support supervision across the state’s 30 LGAs.

“We are ready. We are set to go. You are aware that we will have to reprint the ballot papers. Other than that, everything is in place,” he said.

Haruna said 1,906,390 PVCs have been collected, representing 81.5% of 2,339,233 registered voters. The remaining 426,842 PVCs have been deposited with the CBN.

The commission will deploy 5,130 BVAS machines and 1,328 backups for the poll across 3,763 polling units, with 15 political parties contesting.

—Accord Party Alleges Unauthorized REC In Osun—