The Osun State Police Command has arrested the state Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, Mayowa Adejoorin Adeniyi, over a shooting incident at an All Progressives Congress rally in Ilesa on Saturday, triggering a fresh political confrontation with Governor Ademola Adeleke’s campaign organisation.
The police said Adejoorin was arrested after tactical officers intercepted a white Lexus 350 allegedly linked to the incident and found an Amotekun operative and another occupant inside.
Police spokesperson, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, said the command deployed tactical teams after receiving reports that people identified as Amotekun personnel had allegedly emerged from a vehicle parked near the APC rally and fired shots.
According to Ojelabi, some APC supporters pursued the fleeing men, while one of those caught allegedly produced a knife and attempted to attack people before escaping.
He said officers later intercepted the Lexus and took the occupants to the command headquarters for questioning.
“On interrogation, it was discovered that the other occupant is Honourable Mayowa Adejoorin,” Ojelabi said.
The police said investigation had commenced to establish the commissioner’s level of involvement in the incident.
Reports from the rally alleged that several people were injured, although the exact number of casualties could not be independently established at the time of filing this report. There were also claims that a 14-year-old boy was hit by a stray bullet.
Adejoorin’s arrest has added a new flashpoint to Osun’s increasingly tense political contest, coming just one week before the August 15 governorship election.
Governor Adeleke is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party, while the All Progressives Congress is fielding Bola Oyebamiji. The contest has generated intense mobilisation across the state, particularly in Ijesaland.
Reacting to the arrest, the Imole Campaign Council, through its spokesperson, Pelumi Olajengbesi, accused the police of targeting Accord leaders and supporters for political reasons.
Olajengbesi alleged that Adejoorin was arrested while travelling towards Osogbo and questioned the basis for the commissioner’s detention.
He called on the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, to intervene and investigate what the campaign council described as a pattern of arrests involving Accord members in Ijesaland.
“We demand answers. On what basis was Hon Mayowa Adejoorin arrested? What offence has he committed? What evidence exists against him?” Olajengbesi asked.
He also demanded Adejoorin’s immediate release, arguing that the commissioner should not be detained without a clear and credible basis.
The campaign council accused the APC of attempting to weaken Accord’s political structures ahead of the election, an allegation that has not been independently established.
The police have not indicated that Adejoorin has been charged with an offence, stressing instead that the arrest forms part of an ongoing investigation into the shooting.
The latest incident comes amid heightened security operations in Osun ahead of the election. The police command has in recent months announced arrests of suspected cultists and political thugs, including suspects apprehended during operations in Ilesa and Osogbo.
Adeleke’s administration has also repeatedly raised concerns about the security environment surrounding the election and called for a credible process.
The governor said in June that residents should reject attempts to create fear ahead of the poll, insisting that voters must be allowed to exercise their rights without hindrance.
With the commissioner now in police custody, the focus will shift to the outcome of the investigation and whether the shooting incident will produce further arrests or deepen the political confrontation between the rival camps.
