SaharaReporters had reported that gunmen on Monday allegedly killed the recently reinstated Chairman of Irewole Local Government, Remi Abass, and five others in Osun State.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has described the crisis in Osun State as a desperate attempt by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to retain power through intimidation and lawlessness.

SaharaReporters had reported that gunmen on Monday allegedly killed the recently reinstated Chairman of Irewole Local Government, Remi Abass, and five others in Osun State.

The attack reportedly occurred on Monday when the deceased chairman arrived at the local government secretariat with his supporters. 

They were attacked by armed men suspected to be thugs.

Meanwhile, SaharaReporters gathered that security operatives from the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested several suspected thugs allegedly attempting to cause chaos in the state.

Previously, SaharaReporters reported that the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, had raised the alarm about an alleged plot by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, to instigate unrest in the state.

Adeleke accused Oyetola of issuing illegal directives to security operatives in an attempt to enforce the unlawful return of sacked local government chairmen.

Meanwhile, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, in a statement on Tuesday, alleged that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration deployed armed thugs to seize control of all 30 local government secretariats in Osun State.

He accused the APC of orchestrating a brazen assault on democracy, calling it a sign of complicity.

Atiku urged security agencies to maintain neutrality in the electoral process and resist being used as "enforcers" for the ruling party. 

He also warned that the APC’s actions in Osun were part of a larger pattern of democratic subversion across Nigeria.

The statement reads in part: "Nigerians bore witness to a chilling display of lawlessness yesterday, as the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) exposed the depths of its desperation to retain power at all costs — through sheer political brigandage and the subversion of democracy.

"In Osun State, the APC orchestrated a full-scale assault on the democratic process, attempting to hijack the local government elections through brute force. Armed thugs and mercenaries, operating under the party’s protection, launched an audacious bid to seize control of all 30 local government area council secretariats. And yet, the so-called national leadership of the APC and the presidency watched in complicit silence.

"Had it not been for the fearless resistance of the Osun people — who stood their ground against the APC’s rampaging foot soldiers — democracy in the state would have been trampled under the boots of political marauders acting at the behest of their party’s overlords.

"Let this be clear: Osun State will never bow to anti-democratic forces. The people have shown beyond doubt that they will not allow their electoral rights to be stolen, no matter the level of intimidation.

"We demand that security agencies deployed for Saturday’s elections uphold their constitutional duty with professionalism, refusing to be used as enforcers of the APC’s criminal agenda. The world is watching.

"These are dangerous times. The APC has abandoned any pretense of democratic legitimacy, resorting instead to brute force in its bid to cling to power, even as the people have overwhelmingly rejected it.

"We commend the brave citizens of Osun for standing up to the tyranny that sought to break them. Their resilience is a beacon of hope in the face of unrelenting oppression.

"Tinubu’s APC has left no doubt — it will stop at nothing to subvert democracy and impose itself against the will of the people. But Nigerians must resist. The time-honored warning remains true: eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

"President Bola A. Tinubu, @officialABAT, and his dwindling band of enablers must cease their reckless acts of political sabotage — not just in Osun or Lagos, but across Nigeria.

"The people demand governance, not chaos. Nigerians will not sit idly while their democracy is hijacked by a power-drunk regime intent on setting the country on fire," the statement added.

Nigerians bore witness to a chilling display of lawlessness yesterday, as the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) exposed the depths of its desperation to retain power at all costs — through sheer political brigandage and the subversion of democracy.

In Osun State, the…

— Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) February 18, 2025