Witnesses have alleged that the former factional chairman of the Osun State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Nurudeen Alowonle, and a branch chairman, Adeyemi Ojo, popularly known as Sibi, led armed men to attack motorists at a garage in Mayfair, Ile-Ife, where motorist leader Ajagungbade Emir was allegedly shot dead. The witnesses also alleged that several other people were injured in the attack, which occurred on Sunday amid a dispute over the leadership and control of motor parks in Osun State. Emir, who was reportedly an ally of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, was said to have been among supporters who gathered at the Mayfair garage after a meeting with the state Commissioner for Transportation, Ephraim Sesan.

One of the witnesses, Gbadegesin, who identified himself as the second-in-command of motorists in Osun State, made the allegations in a video published by Inside Ile-Ife and seen by SaharaReporters. Gbadegesin said he was at church when he received a call from the state secretary informing him that motorists were expected to meet with the Commissioner for Transportation. He said he later joined the meeting, which was attended by the commissioner, members of the state council and garage leaders. According to him, the participants were told that Emir would be installed as the new state chairman and were urged to support him.

“We were told to honour him. After the meeting, everyone left, but Ajagungbade said he wanted the elderly people who came with him to eat because they had not eaten before the meeting,” Gbadegesin said. He said Emir and his supporters subsequently went to the Mayfair motor garage to eat, where they were allegedly attacked by armed men.

“It was while they were eating at the Mayfair garage that Nurudeen Alowonle, the former state chairman, arrived. We call him former because the leadership was said to have been dissolved as the Osun State Government planned to install Ajagungbade as the new leader,” he said. “Nurudeen Alowonle, a man known as Sibi, who is the branch chairman of Sabo-Lagere in Ile-Ife, and their men came into the Mayfair garage with guns. They came with different types of guns.”

Gbadegesin alleged that the armed men opened fire on the people eating at the garage. “Emir’s supporters who had accompanied him to the meeting with the Commissioner for Transportation were eating. There were many people there,” he said. “The gunfire hit some people who are now receiving treatment at the General Hospital. Emir escaped, but they followed him and shot him. I was told he had not died at the time, and his supporters took him to Osogbo in the Sienna vehicle they came in.”

Gbadegesin said those affected by the attack subsequently went to the police station to report the incident. “We have come to the police station to make a report,” he said.

Another witness, Kareem Akeem, who identified himself as the leader of motorists at Ile-Ife One Branch, also recounted the incident in the video. Akeem said he was initially part of the group that went to meet the Commissioner for Transportation but remained outside because they were not allowed into the meeting. He said some of those who attended the meeting later went to the Mayfair garage to eat before returning to their various destinations.

“They were eating and having fun,” Akeem said. He said he later stepped outside the garage after being informed that someone was looking for him. According to him, it was while he was outside that he saw Sibi, whom he identified as Adeyemi Ojo, chairman of the mini-bus operators at Sabo-Lagere.

“He covered his face with a mask and told me, ‘Egbon, leave.’ I asked him what he had come to do there, but he said I should not worry,” Akeem said. He alleged that Sibi subsequently asked a man identified as Michael to leave the garage. “He asked Michael to leave the garage. I asked him why he wanted the man to leave, and the next thing I saw was that he went to call others, and they came together,” he said.

Akeem alleged that the group included Alowonle, Sibi and another man identified as Sultan. “Those who came included the state chairman, Alowonle Nurudeen, with his men, as well as Sibi, Adeyemi Ojo, and Sultan. They came down with guns,” he said. “I asked them what was wrong, but they started shooting sporadically. We ran because we feared for our lives.”

The witness alleged that the gunmen left the area after attacking their intended targets. “What we later heard was that they had achieved their aim with the people they came for,” he said. Akeem also alleged that the vehicle used by the attackers collided with a commercial bus as they fled. “As they were leaving, they collided with one of our buses that was calling for passengers going to Ibadan. The driver of the bus had his leg broken,” he said. He alleged that the vehicle used by the attackers belonged to Alowonle. “The vehicle they came with belongs to the state chairman, Wakil Nurudeen Alowonle,” he said.

Akeem said some of the people injured in the attack were receiving treatment at the Seventh-day Adventist Hospital and the General Hospital. “One of those injured by gunfire is at the Seventh-day Adventist Hospital, while others are at the General Hospital,” he said. He said the affected motorists went to the police to seek intervention over the escalating dispute surrounding the leadership of motor parks in the state. “We came to the police station to make a report because we no longer understand what is happening. We want the government to come to our aid,” he said.

Akeem further alleged that the dispute between Alowonle, Sibi and supporters of the emerging leadership had created fear among motorists. “Sibi and Alowonle Nurudeen have become a menace over who becomes the state chairman and who does not,” he alleged. He said Emir was only one of several people involved in the leadership contest and argued that the dispute should not prevent other motorists from accessing public garages. “The person who was killed was one of those contesting. He was not the only one contesting. Our garage is a public place, so nobody should be prevented from entering it or be chased away,” he said.

The allegations came as Governor Adeleke ordered an immediate investigation into Emir’s killing and directed the police to arrest all those allegedly involved. The governor also ordered the immediate vacation of motor parks by warring groups and announced the reintroduction of the Park Management System across the state to restore order and prevent further violence over control of motor parks. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, on Sunday, Adeleke directed the Commissioner of Police in Osun State to immediately arrest those involved in the killing and ensure that they were brought to justice.

“The governor charged the Commissioner of Police to act immediately to arrest all those involved. Law and order must be maintained. There will be no sacred cows, as all culprits will be brought to book,” the statement said. Adeleke also directed security agencies to restore normalcy in affected motor parks and ensure the maintenance of law and order across the state. The governor urged residents to remain calm, assuring them that his administration would take steps to restore peace in the affected area.