Eight Major Events That Shaped Osun In 2025

As the year 2025 winds and 2026 approaches, YUSUF OKETOLA takes a retrospective look at major events that happened in Osun State through the course of this year. Throughout the outgoing year 2025, newsrooms across the state were buzzing with unending breaking news, twists and turns in all sectors. This report presents eight of the most topical events of the year.

The year 2025 has been marked by significant events across various spheres of our lives, from politics to conflicts, among others.

From the seizure of Osun local government allocation by the Federal Government due to the ongoing local government tussle between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) and killing of six people by Amotekun Corps operatives at Akinlalu community among other events. As we approach the year 2026, residents of the state and Nigerians await how these events shape our future. Let’s delve into the elaborate highlights of this eventful year.

• Osun Local Government Crisis

What started as a mere political game in February this year has plunged the state into a deep crisis. Ten months later, local government workers have continued to stay at home while council secretariats remained closed as a result of a dispute over LG elections between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC).

The federal government, through the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, declared that the local government chairmen elected on the platform of the PDP in February 2025 are illegal.

According to him, the All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen elected under former governor Gboyega Oyetola at the twilight of his administration in October 2022 are the legal occupants of the LGAs because their tenure had not expired.

The Osun State government under Ademola Adeleke has continued to challenge that. As far as his administration is concerned, PDP chairmen and councillors that emerged in an election conducted by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) in February are the authentic leaders

Meanwhile, the LG allocations were withheld by the federal government for months before it was later released into a private account opened by the APC council chairmen with the United Bank of Africa (UBA).

But an Oyo State High Court restrained UBA from allowing withdrawals from 30 bank accounts into which withheld allocations were lodged by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This has made billions meant for schools, clinics, and rural roads remain frozen, communities sink deeper into neglect.

OSUN DEFENDER reports that the AGF, Fagbemi, told Adeleke before the February election to direct OSIEC to suspend the election.

In a statement on Thursday, February 20, he warned that conducting a new local government poll would be invalid and unconstitutional.

Adeleke went on to conduct the election and inaugurated the newly elected chairpersons and councillors in the state capital on Sunday, February 23. Both parties have continued to challenge their eligibility at the court over who controls the council.

Recently, the Supreme Court of Nigeria struck out a suit filed by the Attorney General of Osun State, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, against the AGF, Fagbemi, in relation to the dispute over the withheld allocations due to the LGAs in the state.

In a split decision of six justices to one, the apex court held that the Osun State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice has no legal right to have instituted the case on behalf of the 30 local governments in the state.

The court held that those who won the local government election and were inaugurated are the right persons who can sue and be sued directly.

Gruesome Murder Of Osun Council Boss

The Chairman of Irewole Local Government and Chieftain of the APC in Ikire, Remi Abass, gruesomely murdered when the local government crisis broke out in early February.

Abass was killed in a broad daylight on Monday, February 17, 2025 by suspected political thugs in front of his local government office while attempting to resume duty in compliance with a Court of Appeal judgment that was interpreted by the APC as reinstating him and his councillors. It was the day six others were also killed when the crisis heightened.

On Monday, December 16, 2025, the Anti-kidnapping Unit of the Nigerian Police Force, Osun State Command arrested a suspected killer in connection with the killing of Remi Abass. He is simply identified as Oriade.

OSUN DEFENDER learnt that the suspect was arrested in Ibadan, Oyo State, where he believed to have been hiding since February, following allegations that he led a group of thugs responsible for the killing of Abass.

Earlier, four suspects allegedly linked to his murder were arraigned on Wednesday before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The defendants — Abubakar Kabiru (also known as Jeje, 38), Tajudeen Opeyemi (30), Akeem Agbomojo (28), and Akintoye Olayemi (40) — all from Ikire and Apomu in Osun State, were arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.

They were charged with terrorism, illegal possession of firearms, and the murder of Abass, who was killed on February 17, 2024, in Ikire, Osun State.

The crisis also led to the death of a PDP chieftain in Ikire, Ademola Adelugbin who died in detention in Abuja.

Dozens Killed, N2bn Properties Lost in Renewed Ifon/Ilobu Crisis

In March this year, Ifon in Orolu local government and Ilobu in Irepodun council of Osun state renewed their agelong Communal Crisis with numerous houses and shops razed, people sustained gunshot injuries and countless families displaced.

During the last clash, a woman’s house was set on fire with her inside and government-owned primary healthcare facilities were targeted too. Till date the number of casualties and destroyed homes as of now were yet to be confirmed.

Governor Ademola Adeleke who lamented the repeated breach of peace deals among the warring communities warned that his administration would take stringent action on the buffer zone between the two communities unless hostility stopped immediately. He vowed to dethrone monarchs of any of the towns found culpable in the future.

Adeleke’s Abortive Mission In Joining The APC

In mid-2025, there were rumours that Governor Ademola Adeleke would defect to the All Progressives Congress, APC, from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP before he eventually joined the Accord Party to contest his second term bid in the 2026 Osun governorship election.

Adeleke dumped the PDP due to the unresolved crisis within the national leadership of the party.

According to sources, Governor Adeleke in an attempt to join the ruling party hit a brick wall as his moves were frustrated by some leaders of the party who are loyalists of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola.

OSUN DEFENDER reliably gathered that the Governor and his elder brother, Dr. Deji Adeleke, earlier traversed the country, begging and lobbying influential leaders to speak to President Bola Tinubu on their behalf.”

Former Ogun State governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba and National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, are two of the intercessors they allegedly approached for the assignment.

However, the APC disclosed that it rejected Adeleke’s move to join the party due to his poor performance.

• Aregbesola Joined 2027 Coalition

In July 2025, former Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, agreed to serve as the National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress.

Aregbesola emerged as the ADC National Secretary after Nigerian opposition bigwigs adopted the party as the political vehicle for their 2027 campaign.

The immediate-past Minister of Interior and one of the founding fathers of the All Progressives Congress joined the new coalition after his expulsion from the party.

The ex-Governor’s political move has however become a nightmare to the APC, not only in Osun but across the South West region since he joined the coalition. The move has breathed a new life into the Osun political space of the state where he served for two terms.

It took Aregbesola and his followers’ months before joining the coalition after they were alienated from the APC by former governor Adegboyega Oyetola who lost his reelection bid in 2022 as a result of the internal wrangling within the party, with the hope of possible reconciliation.

In his acceptance speech, Aregbesola said “parties are not merely machines for winning elections but institutions for mobilizing, organizing, energizing, educating, empowering and encouraging the people towards their emancipation and development.”

• Apetu Of Ipetumodu Jailed In the United States

On August 26, 2025, Oba Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu, Osun State was sentenced to more than four years in an American prison for stealing millions of dollars from emergency COVID-19 relief programmes.

The 62-year-old monarch, who holds both American and Nigerian citizenship and lives in Medina, Ohio, was handed a 56-month jail term by a US court for his role in what prosecutors called a sophisticated fraud scheme targeting pandemic assistance funds.

Oloyede masterminded a conspiracy to exploit emergency loan programmes designed to help struggling businesses during the coronavirus crisis.

US District Judge Christopher Boyko also ordered him to pay $4.4m in restitution, surrender his home in Medina, and hand over nearly $100,000 in stolen money that had already been seized. He must also serve three years of supervised release after his imprisonment.

Court papers revealed that between April 2020 and February 2022, Oloyede worked with an accomplice, Edward Oluwasanmi, to submit fake applications to two major US government relief programmes.

The pair targeted the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) schemes, both created under the CARES Act to provide emergency funding during the pandemic.

Prosecutors said Oloyede ran several businesses and a charity organisation, which he used as fronts to channel fraudulent loan requests through the system. He also submitted applications using the names of some of his tax clients, secretly taking a 15–20% cut of any money awarded without declaring this income to tax authorities.

Federal investigators discovered that Oloyede successfully obtained approval for 38 fraudulent applications worth $4.2m in government funds that were meant for legitimate businesses struggling during the pandemic.

Rather than using the money for business purposes as required, court documents show he spent portions of the stolen funds to buy land, build a home, and purchase a luxury vehicle.

His partner in the scheme, Oluwasanmi, received a lighter sentence in July – 27 months in prison. He was also ordered to repay $1.2m and forfeit property plus more than $600,000 held in various accounts.

The case formed part of a wider crackdown on pandemic fraud by US authorities. The investigation was carried out by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigations, and the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, working under the US Pandemic Response Accountability Committee’s Fraud Task Force.

The Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan schemes were among the largest government relief efforts in US history, providing hundreds of billions in emergency funding to businesses affected by COVID-19 lockdowns and economic disruption.

However, the programmes’ rapid rollout and relaxed verification requirements made them attractive targets for fraudsters, leading to numerous prosecutions across the country as authorities work to recover stolen taxpayer money.

The Osun State Government has promised to take necessary action regarding the stool as soon as its obtained the Certified True Copy of the judgement as many have called for his dethronement

• Amotekun Operatives Kill Three In Akinlalu Community

On September 29, 2025, four residents of Akinlalu, a community in Ife North Local Government Area of the state were killed by Amotekun operatives while several others were wounded.

The victims, according to the Osun State Police Command, were Ibrahim Oyebamiji (26), Sefiu Oyebamiji, and Abiola Olutayo, while those injured included Adeagbo Kadijat (22), Oke-Ila Oyebamiji (60), and Fayomi Toheeb (19).

The killing incident triggered outrage across the state, with residents and families of the victims demanding justice and a thorough review of Amotekun’s operations.

Few days later, no fewer than 20 operatives of the Osun State Amotekun Corps were arrested by a special squad of the Nigeria Police Force.

The police team, said to be the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team, was said to have been deployed from Abuja, and reportedly stormed the corps’ operational bases in Oke-Fia, Osogbo, and Ife Central Division, Ile-Ife, where they arrested operatives and sealed the facilities.

Three months after the incident, the Osun Amotekun Commander, Isaac Omoyele and 20 operatives remain in detention.

• Crisis Over Passage Of Deposed Owa Of Igbajo, Famodun

Crisis erupted in Igbajo, Boluwaduro Local Government over passage rites for the late Oba Adegboyega Famodun between residents which prompted the state government to declare a 24-hours curfew in the community.

Oba Famodun, a former chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State died on Friday, December 28, 2025 in Abuja after a brief illness. He was installed in 2022 as the 30th Owa of Igbajo under former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, but his appointment was later set aside through an executive order issued by Governor Adeleke, who named Oba Ademola Makinde as the town’s ruler.

In January, however, the Osun State High Court reinstated Oba Famodun, a decision Oba Makinde has challenged at the appellate court.

The unresolved legal tussle has kept the community divided, with most chiefs and compound heads pledging loyalty to the late Famodun.

Tensions escalated after the Gbeleru royal family announced Oba Famodun’s death. Traditionalists and chiefs began passage rites, which supporters of Oba Makinde opposed, insisting the town already had a reigning king who was “alive and healthy.”

The disagreement degenerated into clashes on Sunday and continued into Monday, culminating in an attempt by chiefs and supporters of the late monarch to shut the town’s market in his honour.

Responding to the breakdown of law and order, Adeleke, through the Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi, announced an immediate 24-hour curfew.