By AfrikTimes | Osogbo
Osun State Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, Mayowa Adejoorin, has been released after spending roughly 24 hours in police custody, following his arrest in connection with a shooting that left three people injured, including a 14-year-old boy, during an APC street rally in Ilesa on Saturday.
What happened at the rally
The shooting occurred in the Isokun area of Ilesa while the Ilesa West Local Government chapter of the APC was holding a rally. According to police spokesperson CSP Abiodun Ojelabi, a vehicle bearing the plate number OSHA04 pulled up beside the rally, and individuals identified as Amotekun Corps personnel emerged from it and opened fire, sending the crowd scattering. Three people were confirmed injured and taken to hospital, among them Tobi Ilesanmi, a 14-year-old boy shot near the scene.
Ojelabi said some rally participants gave chase after the shooters fled, catching one man who allegedly drew a knife and threatened bystanders to escape. Police tactical teams responding to the distress call later intercepted a white Lexus 350 they believed was linked to the incident, arresting an Amotekun operative inside along with a second occupant who, on questioning, was identified as Commissioner Adejoorin. Both men were taken to the Osun Police Command headquarters in Osogbo. Police said items recovered from the scene included four spent cartridges and a pump-action gun taken from the Amotekun operative.
Competing accounts of what triggered the gunfire
Folarin Fafowora, head of the APC Campaign Council for Ilesa West, gave reporters a different account of how the chaos began, saying the rally was nearly finished when a vehicle overtook the procession carrying Osun State House of Assembly Chief Whip Hon. Wale Akerele. According to Fafowora, gunfire broke out shortly after Akerele’s arrival, and he described Akerele’s Amotekun escort as having fired shots before the vehicle sped off. AfrikTimes could not reach Akerele for comment as of this publication period.
The Imole Campaign Council, Governor Adeleke’s campaign organisation, offered a competing version through spokesperson Pelumi Olajengbesi, alleging that APC supporters were the ones firing shots at the rally and that video circulating from the scene showed them destroying property belonging to the Accord Party, including its local secretariat. AfrikTimes has not independently verified this claim or the footage referenced.
Adejoorin’s arrest draws sharp pushback
Speaking after the arrest, Olajengbesi accused the police command of a broader pattern of targeting Accord Party figures in Ijesaland, describing Adejoorin’s detention as amounting to what he called an unlawful abduction carried out under police authority. He alleged Adejoorin had been arrested while travelling from Ilesa to Osogbo, separate from the rally itself, and claimed the commissioner had received a threatening call from a federal lawmaker shortly beforehand, though he did not name the lawmaker.
Olajengbesi questioned what specific offence or evidence justified the arrest, and called on Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu to intervene with the Osun command. He maintained that the Accord Party would not be intimidated by further arrests of its members.
Release, with one detail still unresolved
Confirming Adejoorin’s release Sunday, Ojelabi told reporters the commissioner had been let go, but said he could not yet confirm whether the Amotekun operative arrested alongside him remained in custody, citing an ongoing process of gathering facts. Police said investigations into the shooting, and into the extent of Adejoorin’s involvement, if any, are continuing.
