Both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Imole Campaign Council have accused each other of turning a tragic incident in Ilobu, Osun State, involving a 14-year-old child into a political wedge issue in the run-up to the governorship election.
It was stated that a shooting incident near the Irepodun Local Government Secretariat, Ilobu, resulted in the death of a youngster named Ezekiel Olapade and injured another person.
Rival political groups in the state are still pointing fingers at each other over the assassination and the subsequent reactions, which has caused enormous concern and heightened political tensions.
On Tuesday, the APC’s Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, released a statement in which the party condemned Governor Ademola Adeleke’s visit to the grieving family, claiming that the visit had become a political stunt.
Olabisi said that the governor should have spent all of his time grieving with the family instead of making comments that the party saw as politically motivated.
He argued that Governor Adeleke should not have used the funeral as a political platform since it would have been unacceptable for the state chief executive to act inappropriately during a solemn event commemorating the young boy’s death.
It was wrong to assign blame for the murder before police investigations were complete, according to the opposition party, which questioned the governor’s remarks about the tragedy.
After blaming the opposition party for the killing, Olabisi said, “It didn’t add up and unexpected of a worthy chief executive to have bypassed the police in their investigation.”
The APC claimed that the governor’s opinions on the attackers and his apparent call for a police inquiry were contradictory, leading them to question his impartiality.
The Imole Campaign Council, meanwhile, denied the APC’s claims and said the opposition was trying to use the murder of the adolescent as a political wedge issue.
The council issued a statement through its spokeswoman, Pelumi Olajengbesi, expressing worry over the rise in political violence in Osun State and urging all political figures to be calm.
Olajengbesi said that, instead of further polarising parties, the tragic loss of innocent lives should bring them together in the fight for peace.
All of us are at danger due to the current rise in political violence in Osun. No civilised society can tolerate the senseless slaughter of its own citizens. “When people are afraid for their safety, democracies fail,” he declared.
Aside from warning against biased law enforcement, the council encouraged security authorities, particularly the Inspector-General of Police, to guarantee equal protection for all citizens irrespective of their political affiliation.
Democracy requires convincing, not coercion,” Olajengbesi said, arguing that popular support and democratic engagement should decide electoral races.