OSOGBO — Panic gripped traders and residents around the Ataoja’s palace in Osogbo on Wednesday when unknown gunmen opened fire on the convoy of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, sparking a 12 to 15-minute gun battle with his security team.
The attack occurred shortly after the governor left the palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji. Adeleke had arrived at the palace around 3:15 p.m. in a convoy of about 20 vehicles, moments after receiving his Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission following his re-election in Saturday’s governorship poll.
An eyewitness who asked not to be named said the governor was presented to the monarch and had already entered his bus with close aides after prayers were offered when heavy gunshots erupted.
“Those that attacked had come in an unregistered Sienna space bus through the Ita Olokan area of Osogbo,” the witness said.
“The shooting lasted for about 12 to 15 minutes before the governor’s convoy eventually left the palace. The governor’s security men and those hoodlums exchanged gunshots. Those hoodlums later fled the scene.”
A trader near the palace, Munirat, said the assailants appeared to have been waiting for the governor’s arrival. According to her, they came in a Sienna bus and damaged the main gate to the palace.
She added that people abandoned their goods and shops as the firing intensified, and that the attackers later engaged the convoy again near the Osogbo Central Mosque before escaping toward Ita Olokan along the Osogbo-Ilesa Road.
The shooting threw the area into confusion. Business owners hurriedly shut their shops while residents ran for cover. As of 4:45 p.m., sporadic gunshots were still being heard around the palace vicinity and many businesses remained closed.
Confirming the incident, Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, said the governor’s security personnel repelled the attackers.
“They are hoodlums, and the governor’s security repelled them. They attacked the governor’s convoy at Ataoja’s palace. No casualty,” Alimi said.
The attack comes just days after INEC declared Adeleke winner of the Osun governorship election and presented him with his Certificate of Return in Osogbo on Wednesday.
