A 60-year-old man, Tajudeen Yusuf was shot dead on Wednesday by suspeccted cultists in the Itaolokan area of Osogbo, Osun State, shortly after Governor Ademola Adeleke paid a courtesy visit to the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun, at his palace.
Governor Adeleke had gone to the palace to thank the royal father shortly after he received his certificate of return of Nigeria’s electoral body INEC.
The charismatic Adeleke, nicknamed Bulldozer had levelled Mr. Bola Oyebamiji of the APC in Saturday’s bitterly contested Osun governorship election.
This killing happened as Oyebamiji and the APC, the ruling party at the center were still licking their wounds inflicted by that humbling electoral defeat.
The Osun State Police Command said it had commenced investigation and launched efforts to apprehend those responsible for the killing.
Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi said in a statement that the command received information about the shooting at about 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
According to Ojelabi preliminary investigations showed that Adeleke, accompanied by his superstar nephew, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, had earlier paid a courtesy visit to the Ataoja at his palace.
He said shortly after the visit, a man identified as Adebayo Taoreed, popularly known as “Small Rugged”, allegedly attempted to gain access to Davido but was resisted by members of his security team.
The confrontation, according to the police, reportedly attracted other suspected gang members, who temporarily blocked the palace entrance and obstructed the movement of the governor’s convoy before it eventually left the area safely.
The police said the suspected gang members subsequently left the area but allegedly shot Yusuf at Itaolokan while on their way.
“Upon receiving the information, the police immediately mobilised a patrol team to the scene, where the victim was found lying in a pool of blood.
“He was promptly rushed to the University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, for medical attention. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead by the doctors on duty,” the statement said.
The command said it had intensified efforts to identify and arrest the fleeing suspects.
The Commissioner of Police (Election), Osun State Command, CP Samuel Etaifo, condemned the incident and assured residents that all available resources would be deployed to bring those responsible to justice.
The police appealed to members of the public with useful information about the incident to report to the nearest police station or contact the command through its official channels.
The command also urged residents to remain calm and refrain from taking the law into their own hands, assuring the public that further updates would be provided as the investigation progresses.