Suspected gunmen on Wednesday attacked the security team attached to the convoy of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, at the palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji.
The incident occurred shortly after Adeleke received his certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and visited the palace to celebrate his victory with the traditional ruler.
Sources at the palace said the suspected gunmen had allegedly laid siege to the area in an unregistered Toyota Sienna before the governor’s arrival.
The sources said some of the men were involved in a heated argument before gunshots were fired. The cause of the altercation and the intended target of the shooting were not immediately known.
A shop owner close to the palace, Laide Misture, said gunshots were heard a few minutes after the governor and his entourage entered the palace.
“The guys were shooting from inside the main gate while the governor’s security team responded from inside the palace,” Misture said.
She said the shooting lasted for almost three minutes before the suspected gunmen fled the scene in their vehicle.
“They ran away with their vehicle before the governor’s convoy could exit the palace,” she added.
Confirming the incident, the Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, said suspected hoodlums were involved in the shooting.
“It is true there were gunshots when we were exiting the palace and the governor’s security team had to go and engage them. But the circumstances that led to the shooting in the first place, we do not know,” Alimi said.
He said the government was informed that an altercation had occurred between some groups outside the palace, but the identities of those involved and the cause of the dispute remained unclear.
“We only heard that there was an altercation between some groups outside the palace, and we don’t know what caused it or which groups were involved,” he added.
