Families of those killed and injured at Ikire have cautioned the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against politicising the alleged killing of their kinsmen by police operatives.
According to them, the incident has nothing to do with politics but mainly about alleged extrajudicial killings by the police led by the Divisional Police Officer of Ikire.
Reacting to reported accusations and allegations by the Ikire/Osun APC, the families rebuked any attempt to lessen the severity of the Ikire killings by mixing it with politics and declared that “the sad incident is neither about Accord or APC but about criminal conduct of a team of police officers who killed innocent citizens, our breadwinners”.
“We know those who killed our men. We know the policemen who shot and killed for no reason,” a statement signed by Mr. Teslim Shittu, for families of victims, partly read. “It was not a political issue because there was no political event at the park as at the time of the cold-blooded murder. The park was not playing host to APC or Accord before the DPO led his men of six to launch sporadic gun attacks on the park.
“Attempt to drag Senator Akogun Lere Oyewumi into the matter is a diversionary tactic to cover up the criminal conduct of the fingered policemen. We reject this orchestrated cover-up, and we reiterate that the senator was the helper who calmed down the near mob reaction after the killings.”
The APC and the state command of the Nigeria Police Force have yet to comment officially on the allegations.
However, the families stated that the senator intervened to diffuse the situation, which could have snowballed into community-wide retaliatory actions by distrustful residents.
They tasked the higher police authorities and members of the public “to ignore the fake news about alleged involvement of Senator Oyewumi” as the allegation was a conspiracy plot to shield the policemen whom they alleged “are the culprits in the dastardly killings”.
“We reject attempts by Osun APC to silence us through monetary inducement. We abhor blood money. We will not sacrifice justice on the altar of evil money. Those who killed innocent citizens must face the full weight of the law.
Reiterating their demands for justice, the families said that no amount of propaganda can wash away the implicating facts.
Coroner Inquest/Panel Of Inquiry
This comes as the Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, on Saturday issued an executive order establishing a Coroner Inquest/Panel of Inquiry into the killings, shootings, injuries, and violence reported at Naira and Kobo Junction, Motor Park/Garage Area, Ikire, Irewole Local Government Area, on August 24, 2026.
The executive order, which takes effect on August 31, 2026, empowers the panel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident, determine the identities and number of victims, establish the immediate and remote causes of the violence, and examine whether criminal responsibility is connected to the deaths.
The Coroner Inquest/Panel has Magistrate Ayokunle Shiyanbola, with Mr. Abiodun Badiora as Secretary, according to a statement by the spokesperson to the governor, Olawale Rasheed.
Other members include AIG Aderanti Kayode (retd.), Mr. Dele Akintayo, who is a representative of the Nigerian Bar Association; Wale Balogun representing civil society organisations; a community representative from Ikire, and Babatunde Afolabi as medical/forensic representative.
The panel is expected to commence sitting within seven days of its inauguration and submit its final report to the Osun State Government within 30 days from the date of its first sitting, subject to any necessary extension approved by the governor.
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