Severe political violence has broken out in multiple communities across Osun State ahead of the state’s August 15, 2026, governorship election, leaving at least three residents hospitalized with gunshot and machete wounds.

The disturbances have triggered a bitter war of words between Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council, and the African Democratic Republic (ADC), with each camp accusing the others of unleashing armed thugs on the public.

According to local accounts, the unrest began on Tuesday morning, June 9, 2026, in Ile-Ife during a solidarity “victory walk” organized by the APC to rally support for its governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.

The procession, led by House of Representatives member Abimbola Ajilesoro, commenced peacefully from the Mayfair area around 9:00 a.m.

However, chaos erupted when the crowd reached the Sabo area. Eyewitnesses reported that the violence was sparked when political thugs began tearing down campaign posters belonging to an opposing governorship candidate. This rapidly degenerated into an open, bloody confrontation between armed hoodlums associated with the APC and the Accord party, who freely used machetes and fired heavy gunshots into the busy Sabo market, damaging properties and causing traders to flee for safety.

Following the clash in Ile-Ife, the violence quickly spread to other major urban corridors. A convoy of armed men rolled through Akoda, Owode-Ede, and several strategic zones in Osogbo—including Olaiya Junction, Aregbesola Area, Old Garage, Testing Ground, and Oke-Fia—firing randomly into public spaces.

The indiscriminate shooting resulted in severe civilian casualties:

* In Owode-Ede, an elderly man was struck by gunfire and rushed to the Osun State University (UNIOSUN) Teaching Hospital in Osogbo.
* In the Aregbesola Area of Osogbo, a commercial driver sitting inside his bus was hit by a stray bullet and evacuated to an undisclosed hospital.
* At Testing Ground, heavily armed military personnel were spotted at a business premises owned by APC member Lawrence Dada. Dada later accused the soldiers of raiding and looting his property under political pretenses and whisking away two of his employees.

Visiting the wounded victims at the UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital in Osogbo and the State Hospital in Ede, Governor Ademola Adeleke strongly condemned the attacks, labeling them as a coordinated campaign by “pro-Ambo” (APC) political thugs led by notorious local gang leaders. Adeleke blamed the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, and the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, for attempting to plunge the state into chaos. He explicitly censured the Osun State Police Command, accusing them of standing by and failing to intercept a 15-vehicle convoy of armed thugs.

In a swift counter-statement signed by the Head of Media and Publicity for the APC Campaign Council, Remi Omowaiye, the opposition rejected the governor’s narrative. The APC claimed that it was their peaceful “AMBO” supporters and branded campaign buses that were ambushed and vandalized by a joint force of PDP and Accord party thugs in Owode-Ede. The APC questioned why holding a differing political opinion had become a criminal offense under Adeleke’s watch.

Adding another layer to the controversy, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) through its Publicity Secretary, Oluwaseun Abosede, declared that armed APC thugs had targeted the Oranmiyan House (the ADC Campaign Headquarters) at Aregbe Junction, shooting up the building and attacking an adjacent transport park. The ADC joined calls demanding that the State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, act decisively and transparently.

The Osun State Police Command, via Police Public Relations Officer Abiodun Ojelabi, has confirmed awareness of the multi-location violence and stated that a full-scale criminal investigation is underway.