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Security has been significantly reinforced at motor parks across Osun State, particularly in Osogbo, the state capital, amid fears of reprisal attacks following the killing of factional transport union leader Oyeyemi Olalekan, popularly known as “Emir”.
Findings showed that Olalekan was shot dead shortly after being named the state chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) by government representatives.
An eyewitness identifying himself as Gbadegesin, the vice-chairman of the Osun NURTW, claimed he accompanied state council leaders to the home of the Commissioner for Transportation, Ephraim Oyedele, where Olalekan’s appointment was announced.
According to Gbadegesin, the commissioner appealed to union elders to support Olalekan and assured them the new leader would respect the executive body.
“We took photographs together after the announcement and were about to leave when Olalekan insisted the elders should eat before returning to Osogbo.
“They were eating at a garage in the Mayfair area of Ile-Ife when hoodlums, allegedly led by Nurudeen Alowonle, head of the recently dissolved executive, stormed the venue firing gunshots. People fled in panic, and we later learned that Emir was pursued and killed,” Gbadegesin said.
Another eyewitness, Kareem Akeem, who identified himself as the Mayfair garage chairman, corroborated the sequence of events.
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He explained that after returning from the meeting in Modakeke where the commissioner announced Emir as the new chairman, they stopped at Mayfair Park to eat.
He explained that he stepped outside and spotted a masked individual identified as Adeyemi Ojo (alias “Sibi”, chairman of the Sabo/Lagere mini-bus park), alongside Alowonle and two others known as “Sultan” and “Elesin”, who immediately opened fire.
Akeem further alleged that the attackers were involved in an accident while fleeing the scene in Alowonle’s vehicle.
However, in a circulating video clip, Alowonle strongly denied involvement in the incident. He maintained that he remained in Osogbo throughout the day and could not have been present at the crime scene in Ile-Ife.
The Osun State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Zungura, confirmed that a formal investigation into the murder has been launched.
Warning rival factions against launching reprisal attacks, the police chief urged all parties to remain calm as authorities investigate the conflicting claims.
