GUNSHOTS were reportedly fired in Osun State as supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) clashed following the attempted reinstatement of sacked council chairpersons in the state on Monday, February 17.
Unconfirmed reports say two persons were reportedly shot during the fracas in the Boripe Local Government Area of the state.
The crisis followed a disagreement between the state Governor Ademola Adeleke and the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, over the interpretation of the Appeal Court’s ruling on the chairpersons who were elected on the APC platform but sacked by the Federal High Court in 2022.
Reports say the situation between APC and PDP members got intense on Monday when APC executives who resumed in their respective offices began to celebrate their reinstatement. Things took a different turn when they clashed with PDP members, leading to gunfire and injuries.
It was gathered that the Amotekun Corps officers tried to intervene, but the APC members resisted them.
The APC members reportedly took over the secretariat in Osogbo but were chased out by PDP members. One person was reportedly injured during the clash.
The APC members also took over the council in Ife Central but were confronted by PDP members, causing gridlock on the Ibadan/Ikire expressway.
In Obokun, there was uneasy calm, with both parties occupying the front of the council building, which was under lock. Similarly, in Irewole, PDP members prevented APC members from reinstating the APC chairman.
The APC is insisting that a recent Court of Appeal ruling justifies its actions, while the PDP is claiming that the ruling is invalid.
The ICIR reported on Sunday that Adeleke raised the alarm over a plot by Oyetola, a former governor of the state, to plunge the state into chaos by reinstating the sacked chairpersons.
He claimed that the “unlawful takeover” also had the backing of security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the State Security Service (SSS), and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Addressing journalists on Sunday, February 16, Adeleke warned of an imminent security crisis in the state, alleging that Oyetola, in collusion with the Osun State commissioner of police, the SSS, and the state commandant of the NSCDC, had perfected plans to reinstate the sacked LGA chairpersons on Monday, February 17.
Commenting further on the alleged plot, Adeleke noted that the controversy stemmed from the 2022 local government elections in Osun, which were nullified by two separate Federal High Court judgments.
According to Adeleke, the Court of Appeal struck out the PDP’s case against the chairpersons but did not issue any consequential order reinstating them.
The governor also said the judgment obtained by the Action Peoples Party (APP), which also sacked the local government officials, remained valid and unchallenged by the APC.
He said he had yet to become the state governor when the chairpersons were sacked.
Consequently, the Osun State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) directed local government workers to stay at home from Monday, following fears of a possible breakdown of order over the planned reinstatement.
Meanwhile, the APC chapter in the state confirmed the planned reinstatement but denied issuing orders to any of the security agencies in the state.
A reporter with the ICIR
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