Suspected thugs on Wednesday attacked the convoy of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, shortly after his visit to the palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji.
Although, no casualty was recorded, the gun duel between the attackers and security personnel attached to the governor lasted up to 15 minutes.
The incident occurred shortly after Adeleke left the palace hall where he had met with the monarch and presented his Certificate of Return.
The governor had arrived at the Ataoja’s palace at about 3:15pm in a motorcade of about 20 vehicles, coming directly from the Osun State headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Osogbo where he received the certificate following his re-election in the August 15 governorship poll.
An eyewitness told our correspondent that trouble started as the meeting was winding down after the monarch had offered prayers.
“He was already in the bus that brought him and his close aides to the palace when we started hearing heavy gunshots. Those that attacked had come in an unregistered Sienna space bus through the Ita Olokan area of Osogbo,” the source said.
The eyewitness said the shooting lasted for about 12 to 15 minutes before the governor’s convoy left the palace. “The governor’s security men and those hoodlums exchanged gunshots. Those hoodlums later fled the scene,” she added.
A trader near the palace, Munirat, said the assailants might have been monitoring the governor’s movement.
“We suspected that those hoodlums heard about Adeleke’s visit and had been waiting for him. They came in a Sienna space bus. They even damaged the main gate to the palace. They shot at the palace main gate, but the security men pushed them back,” she said.
She added that the attackers also engaged the governor’s convoy near the Osogbo Central Mosque before fleeing towards Ita Olokan along the Osogbo-Ilesa Road.
The incident caused panic in the area as traders and residents fled their businesses and sought safety.
Confirming the attack, the Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, said the governor’s security personnel successfully repelled the assailants.
“There was an attack, but the governor’s security team handled it. No life was lost,” Alimi said.
The attack came hours after INEC presented the Certificate of Return to Adeleke for his victory in the August 15 election where he polled 511,067 votes to defeat the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.