Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A chilling wave of violence shattered the relative calm of Osun State on Sunday, September 13, 2026, when gunmen shot dead a prominent aide and political associate of Governor Ademola Adeleke during a bloody leadership tussle over the control of motor parks in Ile-Ife. The victim, Olalekan Oyeyemi, popularly known as Emir Ajagungbade, was killed in a fierce gun duel that erupted around 10:00 a.m. at the Mayfair Motor Park, before spreading to other parks in Sabo and Lagere areas of the ancient city.
The killing has sent shockwaves through the state's political landscape and exposed the dangerous underbelly of the motor park system, where rival factions have long clashed over control of lucrative transport routes. According to multiple eyewitness accounts, Emir had gone to the Mayfair Motor Park to attend a meeting with transport operators as part of efforts to resolve an ongoing dispute. He was reportedly seeking to take over the leadership of the park from the current head, Mr. Wakili Nurudeen, popularly known as Alowonle, a move that had created deep tension between the two camps. However, the meeting turned deadly when masked gunmen stormed the venue and shot Emir in the head. The violence quickly spiralled, with sporadic gunshots renting the air for more than 20 minutes, causing residents, shop owners, and passersby to flee in panic. A viral video showed Emir's lifeless body, wearing a hooded cardigan drenched in blood, dumped inside a vehicle.
Governor Adeleke, in a swift and unequivocal response, ordered the state Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Zungura, to launch a thorough investigation and arrest all those involved in the killing. "Law and order must be maintained. There will be no sacred cows as all culprits will be brought to book," the governor declared in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed. He also directed the immediate vacation of the motor parks by warring groups and ordered security agencies to restore normalcy across the state. In a major policy move aimed at ending the cycle of violence, Adeleke announced the reintroduction of the Park Management System, promising to issue an Executive Order to give effect to the new management structure. He also suspended the activities of the National Union of Road Transport Workers in the state.
The killing has been linked to a long-standing feud between Emir's faction and the Alowonle-led group, with sources alleging that the violence was a direct result of the leadership dispute. The incident has also raised questions about the safety of political appointees and the influence of informal transport unions in the state's political economy. As tension heightened at Emir's base in the Asoje area of Osogbo, his associates accused the Alowonle faction of being responsible for the killing, an allegation that has not been independently verified. A vehicle carrying some of Emir's loyalists was reportedly involved in an accident near the Campus Gate while attempting to escape the chaos.
The killing of Emir Ajagungbade is a stark reminder of the deadly consequences of the intense competition for control of motor parks in Nigeria, where billions of naira change hands daily. As the police continue their investigation and the governor moves to impose order through the new Park Management System, the people of Osun State are left to mourn the loss of a political stalwart and to hope that his death will finally spur the authorities to dismantle the violent cartels that have turned the state's motor parks into battlegrounds.
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