The Osun State Commissioner for Environment, Mayowa Adejoorin, has been released by the Osun State Command, barely 24 hours after he was arrested in connection with a shooting incident in Ilesa.
Adejoorin was released after his arrest by the law enforcement agency following a shooting during a street rally organised by members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Ilesa West Local Government Area of the state, where at least three persons sustained varying degrees of injuries.
The commissioner, who was released on Sunday, was linked to the incident that left one of the victims identified as 14-year-old Tobi Ilesanmi, who was allegedly shot around the Isokun area of Ilesa.
The incident has triggered a blame game between the APC and the Accord Party, with both sides giving conflicting accounts of what happened.
The police had said Adejoorin was arrested after operatives of the Intelligence Response Team, responding to the shooting, intercepted a white Lexus 350 allegedly carrying an Amotekun Corps operative and another occupant.
According to the police, the vehicle was stopped as it approached the scene of the incident, and the occupants were taken to the Osun State Police Command headquarters in Osogbo for questioning.
The police spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, had said the investigation was aimed at determining Adejoorin’s level of involvement in the incident.
“Three persons are confirmed injured, and they were taken to different hospitals. From the reports we have, they were shot at the rally scene,” Ojelabi said.
He alleged that the shooting was carried out by Amotekun personnel who arrived at the rally in a vehicle bearing an official Osun State Government number plate.
According to him, the police recovered four expended cartridges from the scene and a pump-action firearm from an Amotekun operative arrested in connection with the incident.
Ojelabi also said the police had tactical teams deployed across the area and that an IRT team closest to the scene responded after receiving a distress call.
The APC Campaign Council for Ilesa West, however, gave a different account of the incident.
Its head, Folarin Fafowora, alleged that the shooting occurred while the APC rally was nearing its conclusion and claimed that people linked to the Amotekun Corps were involved in the incident.
Fafowora also alleged that the Chief Whip of the Osun State House of Assembly, Wale Akerele, passed through the area shortly before the shooting.
He said the incident caused panic among participants, forcing people to scramble for safety.
Akerele could not be reached for comment, as calls to his telephone line did not go through. A message sent to him via WhatsApp had also not been answered as of the time of filing the report.
Meanwhile, the Imole Campaign Council, through its spokesperson, Pelumi Olajengbesi, rejected the allegations against the APC and accused its members of being responsible for the violence.
Olajengbesi alleged that APC members were shooting during the rally and destroying property belonging to Accord Party members, including the party’s secretariat in Ilesa.
Confirming Adejoorin’s release on Sunday, Ojelabi said the commissioner had been freed after spending almost 24 hours in police custody.
“The commissioner has been released. He was released today,” the police spokesperson said.
However, Ojelabi said he could not confirm whether the Amotekun operative who was arrested alongside Adejoorin had also been released.
“The Amotekun operative that was arrested with him, I can’t confirm his release yet because I am still gathering my facts,” he added.
The police investigation into the shooting is ongoing.