Death in Esa-Oke and truck accident in Ede — Osun politics getting dirty before election

So yesterday was a heavy day for Osun State politics. We had the death of an Accord Party member, Ajayi Aderogba, known as Rogba, in Esa-Oke, Obokun Local Government Area. Then a separate truck accident killed an APC supporter and injured several others on their way to a rally in Ede. The Imole Campaign Council, which is Governor Adeleke's campaign team, immediately pointed fingers at APC lawmaker Oluwole Oke, linking him to Aderogba's killing. But Oke's response through his media aide Tunde Omolebi-Sunday was sharp — he said the allegations were false, premature, and made without any credible investigation from security agencies.

What caught my attention is the timing. Aderogba died on Tuesday while preparing for an event supporting Adeleke's second-term bid. Then Wednesday, APC supporters heading to their own rally in Ede lost a life in a truck accident. The Imole Campaign Council said they were "profoundly saddened" by the APC accident and extended sympathies, but they still criticised APC leaders for continuing political activities despite the loss of lives. It is a cycle of accusation and counter-accusation that we have seen many times before in Nigerian elections, and it never ends well.

The question I keep asking myself is this: when will we learn to let security agencies do their work before we start blaming political opponents? Oke himself said the conclusions were "deeply irresponsible" without proper investigation, and I think he has a point. But at the same time, the death of a young man preparing for a political event is suspicious. Something is not adding up in Osun, and with the governorship election approaching, I fear we may see more of this.