Emir Ajagungbade Shot Dead in Ile-Ife Park Tussle

Olalekan Oyeyemi, the Osun State transport figure widely known as Emir Ajagungbade, was shot dead on Sunday in a brazen attack at Mayfair Motor Park in Ile-Ife amid a bitter struggle for control of the state’s motor parks.

The killing, which occurred around midday on 13 September 2026, has been linked to a long-running factional dispute within the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and efforts to reorganise park management under the state government. Oyeyemi, an ally of Governor Ademola Adeleke and a member of the Accord Party, was reportedly targeted shortly after a meeting with the Commissioner for Transportation at which he was said to have been positioned for a leading role in a new Park Management.

According to eyewitness accounts, Oyeyemi and members of his team stopped at the Mayfair Garage area for a meal after the meeting. Armed men, allegedly including Nurudeen Alowonle (a rival factional leader) and Olayemi Ojo (popularly known as Sibi, branch chairman of the Sabo/Lagere mini-bus park), stormed the premises and opened fire. Oyeyemi was pursued as he tried to flee and was shot, according to one account given by a union official present. Others were wounded. A video circulating online showed him lying face down in a vehicle in a pool of blood. Police were initially alerted to an incident near Energy Filling Station in Ile-Ife and later confirmed the shooting.

Oyeyemi had built a tough reputation in Osun’s transport and political circles. He had previously served on a transition committee ahead of Adeleke’s inauguration and was involved in park management matters. His past, however, was marked by controversy: in 2022 the Osun State Police Command declared him wanted in connection with allegations of murder, cultism and armed robbery, describing him as having “caused menace” across the state. He later faced charges and was granted bail in 2024.

The killing has intensified tensions. Sporadic gunshots were reported in parts of Osogbo, the state capital, prompting residents to stay indoors, while security has been tightened at motor parks across Osun amid fears of reprisals.

Governor Adeleke reacted swiftly. In a statement issued through his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, he ordered the state Commissioner of Police to arrest all those involved without delay, directed rival groups to vacate the motor parks immediately, and announced the reintroduction of a Park Management System. He said an executive order would formalise the new arrangement to restore discipline and orderliness in parks and garages statewide. “Law and order must be maintained. There will be no sacred cows as all culprits will be brought to book,” the governor stated, while urging the public to remain calm and charging security agencies to restore normalcy.

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The Osun State Police Command has launched a full investigation. Spokesperson DSP Abiodun Ojelabi said operatives were deployed promptly and that the command is working to establish the immediate and remote causes of the shooting and identify those responsible. The Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Zungura, has warned against reprisals or further violence.

The incident forms part of a broader pattern of unrest in Osun’s transport sector. Leadership contests and clashes over park control have repeatedly flared, leading earlier this year to temporary suspensions of union activities by local government authorities. The governor’s latest measures seek to place parks under a more formal state-managed framework.

As investigations continue, attention remains focused on whether the arrest order will yield swift results and whether the planned Park Management System can end the cycle of violence that has long plagued motor parks in the state.