A 60-year-old man, Tajudeen Yusuf, was shot dead in Osogbo, Osun State, on Wednesday following a confrontation between suspected hoodlums and the security team of music star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido.
The Osun State Police Command stated that the incident occurred shortly after Davido accompanied his uncle, Governor Ademola Adeleke, to the palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun.
The governor had visited the monarch to present his certificate of return following the recent election.
According to the police, trouble started after the visit when Adebayo Taoreed, popularly known as “Small Rugged,” allegedly attempted to gain access to Davido but was resisted by members of the singer’s security team.
The police described Taoreed as an ex-convict, suspected notorious thug, and alleged member of the Eye confraternity, noting that the confrontation quickly attracted other suspected gang members to the area.
In a statement released on Wednesday evening, Osun police spokesperson Abiodun Ojelabi explained that the suspects temporarily blocked the palace entrance and obstructed movement, although the governor’s convoy eventually managed to depart safely.
Ojelabi added that the suspected gang members later left the vicinity but allegedly shot Yusuf while fleeing the area.
According to the police report, authorities received information at approximately 1600 hours that Yusuf, a resident of the Oke-Ayepe area in Osogbo, had been shot by suspected hoodlums at Itaolokan.
Police officers were immediately deployed to the scene, where they found him lying in a pool of blood.
He was rushed to the University Teaching Hospital in Osogbo, where attending doctors unfortunately pronounced him dead.
This tragic event followed an earlier attack on Governor Adeleke’s convoy, during which suspected hoodlums reportedly exchanged gunfire with the governor’s security personnel, though no casualties were initially reported from that clash.
In response to the escalating violence, the Commissioner of Police for the election, Samuel Etaifo, strongly condemned the act and announced that the command has launched a full-scale investigation to identify and apprehend the fleeing suspects.
