Osun State Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, Mayowa Adejoorin, has been released by the Osun State Police Command after spending close to 24 hours in detention, following his arrest in connection with Saturday’s shooting incident in Ilesa.

Adejoorin was picked up after tactical police officers intercepted a white Lexus 350 linked to the shooting, which broke out in the Isokun area of Ilesa during a street rally organised by the Ilesa West Local Government chapter of the All Progressives Congress.

Three people were struck by bullets in the chaos, among them a 14-year-old boy, Tobi Ilesanmi, who police say was hit while standing near the scene. Two other victims, Wasiu Alanide and Aderemi Adedeji, also sustained gunshot injuries and were rushed to hospital for treatment.

Confirming his release in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Sunday, the Public Relations Officer of the Osun Police Command, Abiodun Ojelabi, said only that the commissioner had been let go earlier in the day. Pressed on whether the Amotekun operative who was arrested alongside Adejoorin had also been freed, Ojelabi said he could not yet confirm that detail, explaining that he was still gathering information on the matter.

The arrest had earlier drawn sharp condemnation from the Imole Campaign Council, the group steering Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election bid under the Accord Party banner.

The council’s spokesperson, Pelumi Olajengbesi, described Adejoorin’s arrest as a bandit-like abduction carried out under the guise of police authority, and alleged that dozens of Accord Party members had been detained across the state in what he characterised as a pattern of politically motivated targeting ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

He had called on the Inspector-General of Police to intervene directly. The police have maintained that Adejoorin’s detention was tied strictly to the ongoing investigation into the shooting, which they say began after Amotekun personnel allegedly opened fire near the rally, with the matter still under active investigation.

Photo Credit: Osunmetro.com