Osun police declare NURTW factional chairman Nurudeen Alowonle wanted over the killing of Accord Party chieftain Olalekan Oyeyemi in Ile-Ife
Osun Police Declare Nurudeen Alowonle Wanted Over Emir’s Killing in Ile-Ife
By Newsheadline247
The Osun State Police Command has declared Nurudeen Alowonle, a factional chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), wanted over the killing of Accord Party chieftain Olalekan Oyeyemi, popularly known as Emir, in Ile-Ife.
The Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Zungura, disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists at the command’s headquarters in Osogbo after parading suspects arrested for various offences.
Zungura said six suspects had been arrested in connection with the killing of Oyeyemi, who was shot dead at Mayfair Motor Park in Ile-Ife on September 13.
He said the police were intensifying efforts to arrest Alowonle and another NURTW figure, Adeyemi Ojo, popularly known as Sibi, over their alleged involvement in the incident.
According to the commissioner, preliminary investigations indicated that the two men allegedly mobilised the suspects to carry out the killing.
“Alowonle is declared wanted. The Command is intensifying efforts to apprehend Nurudeen Alowonle, Adeyemi Ojo, aka Sibi, and other suspects currently at large who are alleged to have participated in the heinous crime,” Zungura said.
One of the arrested suspects, Hammed Olalekan Dauda, also known as Jagaban, was reportedly found in possession of a locally modified firearm described by the police as a cut-to-size gun.
The police commissioner said Dauda allegedly confessed during interrogation that Alowonle supplied him with the weapon.
“During interrogation, he (Dauda) reportedly confessed that the firearm was given to him by one Nurudeen Alowonle,” Zungura said.
“All the suspects were mobilised by Nurudeen Alowonle and Adeyemi Ojo aka Sibi.”
Another suspect in custody is Waliyu Adejare, popularly known as Jay Jay, whom the police identified as Alowonle’s personal assistant.
The other suspects were identified as Tijani Ismail, Akinsola Ekundayo, Sijuade Moruf and Ayeni Adegbola. The police said four of the six arrested suspects were operatives of the Osun Amotekun Corps.
Oyeyemi, an Accord Party chieftain and political associate of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, was reportedly killed amid a dispute linked to control of motor parks in the state.
Following the incident, Adeleke ordered the suspension of NURTW activities across Osun State and directed rival transport union groups to vacate motor parks. He also instructed security agencies to arrest those suspected of involvement in the killing.
The governor subsequently announced plans to introduce a Park Management System to regulate the administration of motor parks and garages, vowing that there would be “no sacred cows” and that anyone found culpable would be brought to justice.
On October 5, Adeleke signed the Osun State Integrated Transport, Traffic and Park Management System Bill 2026 into law after its passage by the state House of Assembly.
The legislation, however, triggered a constitutional dispute between the state government and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), which called for its withdrawal, describing it as unconstitutional and unenforceable.
The APC argued that Section 7(1) and the Fourth Schedule of the Nigerian Constitution placed the regulation of public motor parks and related revenue collection within the responsibilities of democratically elected local government councils rather than the state government.
The Osun State Government and the House of Assembly rejected the opposition’s position, accusing the party of misinterpreting the constitutional provisions governing the relationship between state governments and local councils.
The lawmakers maintained that although Section 7(1) guarantees democratically elected local government councils, it also empowers state governments to provide laws governing their establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions.
The dispute over local government administration in Osun has persisted since 2022, when Adeleke assumed office and removed local government chairmen inherited from the administration of his predecessor, Adegboyega Oyetola, citing a court order.
The latest police declaration comes amid continuing tensions over motor park management and the investigation into Oyeyemi’s killing. Alowonle and the other suspects named by the police are yet to be established as guilty by a court.
