One person was reportedly killed and several others injured after suspected cult groups clashed and gunshots rang out around the Palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo on Wednesday while Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke and Nigerian music star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, were inside the palace.
The incident has triggered a fresh political controversy in Osun State, with the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Campaign Council accusing supporters of Governor Adeleke of involvement in the violence and demanding that the governor take responsibility for controlling individuals associated with his political camp.
However, the allegation has not been independently verified, while sources close to the governor’s entourage insisted that Adeleke was neither the target of the attack nor involved in the confrontation.
The incident occurred during Adeleke’s visit to the palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji Laaroye, accompanied by Davido.
According to sources who spoke to SaharaReporters, panic spread around the palace after suspected cult groups engaged in a violent confrontation, with sporadic gunshots heard while the governor was within the premises.
The APC campaign council, however, presented a different account of what triggered the confrontation.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by Oluremi Omowaiye, Head of the Media and Publicity Committee of the APC Governorship Campaign Council, the opposition party alleged that the incident began after a man identified as Taoreed Ademola, popularly known as Small Rugged, attempted to approach Davido.
The APC claimed that Small Rugged was prevented from getting close to the singer and was allegedly beaten and injured by members of Davido’s security detail.
The party alleged that members of his group subsequently retaliated by barricading the governor’s convoy, resulting in a confrontation that escalated into an exchange of gunfire.
“According to eyewitness accounts, one of the known Adeleke thugs, Taoreed Ademola, popularly known as Small Rugged, attempted to exchange pleasantries with Davido when the Governor and the singer arrived at the palace,” the APC said.
The opposition party further alleged that the violence claimed the life of an innocent passerby.
“Tragically, a passerby was reportedly shot dead, while several other citizens sustained injuries,” the APC stated.
The allegations have not been independently verified, and the identities of those responsible for the reported shooting and death remained unclear at the time of filing.
The APC subsequently turned the incident into a fresh political attack on the Adeleke administration, accusing the governor of failing to control what it described as violent supporters and political thugs.
“The Campaign Council is deeply concerned by reports of violence, injuries and the killing of a passerby during the fracas, and calls on Governor Ademola Adeleke to immediately rein in his janjaweeds and violent supporters whose activities, if left unchecked, could further endanger the lives and property of innocent citizens,” the party said.
The campaign council also alleged that Small Rugged was among criminals recently released from prison following an order by Governor Adeleke.
The APC further accused the governor’s political camp of subsequently unleashing him and other alleged thugs against APC supporters in Osogbo and surrounding communities.
Those claims could not be independently verified.
The opposition party said Wednesday’s violence should not be viewed in isolation, arguing that it was part of what it described as a growing pattern of political violence and cult-related activities in Osun State.
The APC specifically referred to a recent reported confrontation between supporters of two political appointees linked to Governor Adeleke — Dauda Olalekan Oyeyemi, popularly known as Emir Ajagungbade, and Wakeel Nurudeen, popularly known as Nurudeen Alowonle.
According to the APC, the confrontation was connected to a struggle over control of motor parks in the state.
The party alleged that the developments pointed to an increasingly dangerous political environment in Osun State.
“This ugly development has accentuated the long-standing position of the Osun State APC that the people of the state are increasingly being exposed to political thuggery and violence perpetrated by hoodlums associated with the Governor’s political camp,” the party said.
The APC called on Adeleke to immediately intervene and prevent further violence.
“We therefore call on Governor Ademola Adeleke to demonstrate leadership by immediately calling his thugs, supporters and political appointees to order,” the party said.
“The Governor has a responsibility to ensure that political disagreements do not degenerate into violence and that Osun State does not become a theatre for the activities of political thugs.”
The party also expressed condolences to the family of the reported victim and sympathised with those injured.
But accounts from people close to Governor Adeleke contradicted the APC’s version of events.
A source within the governor’s entourage said the incident was a clash between suspected cultists and was not an attack directed at Adeleke.
“Cultists clashed today and started shooting sporadically. The shooting happened when the governor, Adeleke, was within the premises of the Ataoja of Osogbo Palace,” the source said.
Another source dismissed suggestions that the governor’s convoy was involved.
“The Palace of the Ataoja is in a big area, but the governor was not targeted nor his convoy involved,” the source said.
Multiple sources also confirmed that Adeleke was not injured.
“The governor was not involved in the attack,” another source said.
Security personnel eventually intervened and brought the situation under control, although the exact circumstances surrounding the reported killing and injuries remained unclear.
It was also not immediately established whether security agencies had arrested any suspects in connection with the shooting.
The controversy comes against the backdrop of growing concerns over cult-related violence in Osogbo.
In July, Governor Adeleke had himself called on security agencies to investigate a suspected cult-related killing in the state and arrest those responsible.
“We receive with concern recent suspected cult killing at Osogbo and we call on security agencies to enforce the law and go after the culprits. The killing and the subsequent rampage are condemnable,” Adeleke said.
The governor had also warned that continued cult violence could further destabilise the state’s security situation, particularly following previous incidents of political violence.
“The incidents of cult violence at Osogbo should be curtailed immediately so as not to complicate the delicate security situation after recent political violence in the state,” he said.
Wednesday’s incident has therefore raised fresh questions about security around political figures and celebrities, the activities of suspected cult groups in Osogbo and the alleged involvement of politically connected individuals in violent confrontations.
While the APC has directly blamed individuals it described as supporters of Governor Adeleke, sources close to the governor have maintained that the incident was a cult clash and not an attack involving Adeleke or his convoy.
Until security agencies provide an official account, identify those responsible and clarify the circumstances surrounding the reported death and injuries, the competing claims remain unresolved.
What is clear, however, is that gunfire erupted in the vicinity of the Ataoja Palace during a high-profile visit by the governor and Davido, leaving at least one person reportedly dead and several others injured and triggering another fierce political confrontation between the APC and the Adeleke administration.