Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Osun State Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, Mayowa Adejoorin, has regained his freedom after spending nearly 24 hours in police custody over a shooting incident that disrupted an All Progressives Congress campaign rally in Ilesa on Saturday, August 8, 2026. The commissioner was released on bail around 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 9, according to the Osun State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi. However, the Amotekun operative arrested alongside him remains in detention, along with the pump-action rifle recovered from the scene.
The controversy began on Saturday morning when members of the APC in Ilesa West Local Government Area held a street rally that was nearing its conclusion. According to police accounts, a white Lexus 350 with registration number OSHAO4 parked near the rally venue. Occupants identified as Amotekun Corps personnel emerged from the vehicle and opened fire sporadically, sending terrified rally participants fleeing for safety. Three people sustained gunshot injuries, including 14-year-old Tobi Ilesanmi, who was shot near the scene. Police recovered four expended cartridges from the scene.
The police said operatives of the Intelligence Response Team stationed nearby responded to the distress call. While heading to the scene, they intercepted a white Lexus 350 approaching them. Inside were an Amotekun operative and another occupant—who turned out to be Commissioner Mayowa Adejoorin. Both were taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Osogbo for questioning.
Adejoorin, who was released on bail, has since given his own account of the ordeal. Speaking in a video after his release, the commissioner said he was travelling through Ilesa to an engagement when his driver overshot their destination and attempted to turn back. They were stopped by a police officer identified as Wemimo, also known as Solo, who questioned why an armed Amotekun operative was travelling with him. Adejoorin explained that the operative was officially attached to his office for security purposes, noting that police and civil defence personnel previously assigned to commissioners had been withdrawn.
The commissioner recounted that after being taken to the State CID, officers instructed him to remove his singlet, underwear and loosen the rope holding his trousers. "I questioned why they were asking me to do that, but I felt helpless and complied," he said. He claimed that another person later intervened, informing the officers that the procedure was inappropriate given his status, after which he was permitted to put his clothes back on. Adejoorin said he spent the night alone in a cell, unable to sleep because he did not know what would happen next.
The commissioner maintained that police officers informed him that Amotekun operatives were not permitted to accompany politicians while carrying rifles. "The operative produced his documents and other papers, but they were still not satisfied," he said. He alleged that officers warned they would arrest all commissioners found with Amotekun operatives in their vehicles and that any Amotekun operative accompanying them must not be armed with a rifle. Adejoorin insisted he was not directly accused of participating in the shooting.
The incident has triggered a fierce blame game between the APC and the Accord Party, whose candidate, Governor Ademola Adeleke, is seeking re-election on August 15. The Head of the APC Campaign Council for Ilesa West, Folarin Fafowora, said the rally was about to conclude when a car carrying the Chief Whip of the Osun State House of Assembly, Wale Akerele, arrived and gunshots rang out. The Imole Campaign Council, on the other hand, alleged that APC members were responsible for the shooting and accused them of attacking Accord Party property.
The police have described the incident as an alleged shooting perpetrated by operatives of the Amotekun Corps. However, Adejoorin's arrest and subsequent release have drawn sharp criticism from the Adeleke campaign organisation, which had earlier condemned the arrest as "nothing short of a bandit-like abduction carried out under the cover of police authority". The campaign council also alleged that the commissioner was stripped naked while in custody, a claim Adejoorin himself partially confirmed.
As the investigation continues, the Amotekun operative arrested alongside Adejoorin remains in police custody. The police have not disclosed whether any charges will be filed against the commissioner or the operative. The incident comes amid heightened political tension and security alertness ahead of the Osun governorship election, with the police under pressure to prevent violence and maintain public order. For Adejoorin, the 24-hour ordeal is over—but the questions it has raised about the conduct of security agencies and the intersection of politics and law enforcement in Nigeria's electoral season are far from resolved.
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