Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
In the ancient town of Ikire, where the cocoa farms stretch to the horizon and the heat hangs heavy over the red earth, a young man bled to death on the tarmac. His name was Kolade Eluyera, and he was the son of the Accord Party's women leader in Irewole Local Government Area. He was shot in the head on Friday night near the Onireke Mosque by unknown gunmen. Now, as the sun rises over Osun State, the governorship election has not been decided by rallies or manifestos, but by a single, fatal bullet that has split the political landscape into two irreconcilable camps.
The attack occurred as political activities intensify ahead of the August 15 governorship election. Eluyera, who was also described as an Accord Party agent and polling unit operative, was ambushed near the mosque. The police have confirmed that his body was recovered with gunshot wounds. But the killing, coming weeks before the polls, has ripped the lid off a simmering cauldron of political violence, forcing the police to deploy additional forces to the area as the two major contenders point fingers of blame at each other across a widening chasm of mutual suspicion.
The Imole Campaign Council, which is spearheading Governor Ademola Adeleke's re-election bid, did not hesitate to point the finger. Its spokesperson, Pelumi Olajengbesi, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of direct involvement. Olajengbesi alleged that Eluyera was killed by suspected political thugs linked to the opposition party, further asserting that the murder followed a pattern of violence in the region that had been reported to the police without any preventive action. "What is unfolding in Osun State is becoming dangerously alarming, condemnable, and a direct threat to constitutional democracy, public peace, and political freedom," Olajengbesi said. He claimed that security reports had been lodged about attacks on Accord members in the area, but no decisive law enforcement action was taken.
The reaction from the APC camp was as swift as it was forceful. Kola Olabisi, co-chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee of the Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji Governorship Election Campaign Council, dismissed the allegation as "frivolous, fabricated, and politically motivated." He implored the public to allow the police to conduct a thorough investigation without political interference, and expressed sympathy to the family of the deceased. Olabisi characterized the victim as a young man, rejecting the attempts to load his death on the APC. He added that even he had received death threats, evidence that the political environment is toxic for all actors involved, not just the ruling party.
The state police command has confirmed the recovery of the lifeless body. Police Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Ojelabi, said the body of Eluyera Kolade was recovered in Ikire with gunshot wounds. "We have commenced investigation; the Commissioner of Police has deployed more men to the area. We are working with those who brought the corpse to get more information," Ojelabi said. The body has been deposited in a morgue, and an autopsy is expected to confirm the ballistic trajectory of the fatal wound.
This killing did not erupt in a political vacuum. It is the culmination of a months-long rise in tension between the ruling party and the opposition in Osun State. The Accord Party’s chairman in the state, Pastor Victor Akande, issued a lengthy statement describing the killing as "callous and barbaric." Akande specifically alleged that the attack may be tied to the APC's fear of rejection at the polls. He noted that the deceased, being the son of the party's Women Leader, was a known and uncompromising figure in the community, having served as a polling unit agent in the past. "We believe that the Osun APC, upon realising the futility of convincing the people to vote for it, has chosen violence to scare and force itself on the people," Akande said.
The implications of the killing are stark. In a state where the political terrain is notoriously rugged, the death of a party agent—someone responsible for protecting the integrity of the ballot box—signals a dangerous descent into a siege mentality. If party agents fear for their lives while performing their duties, the legitimacy of the entire electoral process risks being fatally undermined. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has yet to comment, but the pressure on security forces to guarantee peace ahead of August is now immense.
While the police have begun their work, a parallel political performance is already playing out. The bodies of political discourse have become warzones, with each accusation serving not as evidence but as a tool to delegitimize the other side in the court of public opinion. In the interim, the family of Kolade Eluyera is left with a blood-stained body, a missing father, and the grim certainty that regardless of who wins the election in August, their son will never come home again. The fatal gunshot heard near the Onireke Mosque may turn out to be the defining sound of the Osun State campaign. As night falls on Ikire, the question on the streets is no longer "Who is the better candidate?" but "Who is safe to campaign for them?"
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