<p>The All Progressives Congress in Osun State and the Imole Campaign Council, which is championing the re-election bid of Governor Ademola Adeleke, on Tuesday traded accusations over the killing of a teenager, Ezekiel Olapade, in Ilobu.</p>
<p>PUNCH Online reports that the deceased was killed on Sunday during an incident at the gate of the Irepodun Local Government Secretariat in Ilobu.</p>
<p>One other person, whose identity had not been disclosed, was also injured in the shooting.</p>
<p>The father of the deceased, Gbenga Olapade, alleged that one Saheed Tanfeani led a group of hoodlums to the scene and shot indiscriminately towards a palm wine bar after spotting a man wearing a yellow cap.</p>
<p>Olapade further alleged that police operatives stationed at the entrance of the secretariat watched as the perpetrators arrived in a vehicle branded with AMBO colours.</p>
<p>He said his 14-year-old son was hit in the head by a bullet while attempting to rescue his mother, who had fallen while fleeing the scene.</p>
<p>The APC and the Imole Campaign Council, however, offered divergent accounts of the incident and the political reactions that followed Adeleke’s visit to the bereaved family.</p>
<p>In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, the APC accused Adeleke of attempting to make “superfluous political capital from the gruesome killing of the teenager.”</p>
<p>The party alleged that the governor turned the visit into a political event, claiming he made comments suggesting victory in the forthcoming governorship election.</p>
<p>The APC also criticised the governor’s handling of the matter, alleging inconsistencies in his comments on police involvement and the investigation into the incident.</p>
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<p>“Such an occasion for strictly mourning the young lad was inappropriate for Governor Adeleke to have turned it to a campaign ground as it could be likened to the state chief executive doing the wrong thing at the wrong time and wrong place which is the reason he has been getting so many things wrong since the inception of his administration.</p>
<p>“It didn’t add up and unexpected of a worthy chief executive to have bypassed the police in their investigation when he named the opposition party as being responsible for the killing. What else does the accidental governor want the police to investigate when the governor has labelled a suspect before the police investigation in this regard?</p>
<p>“It was even the display of the highest level of executive confusion when the same Governor Adeleke stated during his supposed campaign visit to the bereaved family of the deceased that he had instructed the police to investigate the crime; the same police that his deregistered Accord Party has denied an audience of meeting in the efforts of the state police command to proffer a lasting solution to the violent political activities preceding the forthcoming 15th August, 2026 governorship election in Osun State”, Olabisi stated.</p>
<p>In a counter statement, the spokesperson for the Imole Campaign Council, Pelumi Olajengbesi, dismissed the APC’s allegations, accusing the opposition party of exploiting the tragedy for political gain.</p>
<p>He said the killing and rising political tensions in the state underscored the need for restraint and responsible conduct from all actors.</p>
<p>Olajengbesi urged security agencies, including the Inspector-General of Police, to ensure impartial protection of all citizens regardless of political affiliation, warning against selective enforcement.</p>
<p>He maintained that democracy must be anchored on persuasion and ideas rather than violence or intimidation, adding that the people of Osun would ultimately decide their leaders through the ballot.</p>
<p>He said, “The recent escalation of political violence in Osun is a threat to us all. The loss of innocent lives has no place in a civil society. Democracy cannot thrive where citizens live in fear.</p>
<p>“The Osun APC must come to terms with a simple political reality. Elections are won through the confidence of the people and not through violence. The people of Osun State have become politically conscious, and no amount of political desperation can substitute for public trust.</p>
<p>“If the Osun APC believes it has earned the confidence of the electorate, it should present its programmes, defend its past record, and submit itself to the judgment of the people. Democracy demands persuasion, not coercion. Political parties should compete with ideas, policies, and performance, not with conduct that threatens public peace and safety.”</p>
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