The Osun State chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has alleged that Dele Ayegbo, nephew of Wole Oke, the party’s campaign director-general for the state, has been shot dead.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday by Kola Olabisi, spokesperson for Osun APC.
He said Ayegbo was killed in Esa-Oke, Obokun LGA of the state, on Wednesday night.
Olabisi alleged that Ayegbo was assassinated at a junction close to his house in the Idofin area of the town by suspected hoodlums who rode in a car.
“The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the killing of the party’s governorship campaign Director-General, Wole Oke’s nephew, Dele Ayegbo, in Esa-Oke, Obokun Local Government Council Area of the state on Wednesday night by the hit squad of the Accord Party who have been terrorising the members and supporters of the opposition APC across the state,” the statement reads.
“Information has it that Ayegbo was gunned down at the road junction close to his house at the Idofin quarters area of the ancient town by the Accord Party hoodlums who were riding in a car.”
Olabisi claimed that two members of the party were shot during the incident, including Ayegbo, who died instantly, while the other victim was rushed to an undisclosed hospital in the town where he was receiving treatment.
He described Ayegbo’s “killing” as “one death, too many” and called on the police to investigate the incident.
“The killing of the nephew of our campaign Director-general in Esa-Oke is one death too many which must be urgently unravelled by the police in the interest of fairness and justice,” he said.
While decrying the spate of killings in the state, Olabisi alleged that over 30 APC members have been killed by political thugs.
He claimed that Ijesaland has witnessed the highest percentage of political killings, alleging that 17 of the 30 APC members allegedly killed since 2022 were from the area.
“A common observation has been that whenever our members were killed, the self-acclaimed chief security officer of the state would not condemn the killing which gives credence to his approval of the rampant extra-judicial killings of our members and supporters in the state,” Olabisi further claimed.
He called on the state police command to act swiftly on the killings ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
“The purpose is to scare away our members and supporters from exercising their civic responsibility on Saturday,” he said.
Police authorities in Osun State are yet to issue an official statement in respect to the development.
Meanwhile, the development comes amid heightened tension ahead of the state’s off cycle governorship election slated for August 15.
The political atmosphere in the state has been highly charged, with supporters of the governor, who is seeking a second term on the platform of Accord, and the APC trading accusations and verbal attacks.
