Tragedy struck on Monday, February 23, 2026, in Orile-Imo, Obafemi-Owode Local Council, Ogun State, as a clash between enforcement officials of the Ogun State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development and military personnel left one person dead.
The deceased, Oluwaseyi Adeoye, was reportedly shot amid an argument between the demolition team and the soldiers.
He was rushed to the State General Hospital, Ijaiye, but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Adeoye was part of the ministry’s team deployed to remove illegal structures in the area.
Narrating the events, one of the officials, Makinde Ibrahim, said tensions escalated when the soldiers confronted the team.
“When we got to the site, they were confronted by the personnel who warned them not to embark on the demolition exercise, but their leader, Hazmat, insisted,” Ibrahim said.
He added that this provoked the soldiers, leading to the deadly clash.
“They actually wanted to kill everyone but we have to scamper for safety. When we got to the site, the team engaged the engineer on ground who begged but he insisted that the demolition must be carried out. He ordered us to pull down three coaches. But one soldier barked at us and asked us to leave. But the team leader insisted that we must carry out our duty. We were accompanied by seven police officers but they couldn’t do anything,” Ibrahim explained.
Kolawole Obadeyi, Chairman of the Concrete Dealers Association, blamed the team leader for the incident.
“We have been working with the ministry for decades and usually there will be clashes on the site but I have the team leaders to blame in this case. When they got there and discovered there were soldiers at the location, they ought to have retreated. Most times, what ought to have happened is to call for more reinforcement so that the demolition will not turn bloody. We have been working with the ministry for about 38 years now,” he said.
Obadeyi described Adeoye’s death as shocking and tragic, considering the modest nature of the work.
“It was shocking that we lost Oluwaseyi because of N10,000 daily job. He only went out to earn a living. This is unfortunate,” he added.
Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Tunji Odulami, described the death as unfortunate and assured that security agencies had been engaged to find the perpetrator.
“Right now, we are reaching out to all the security agencies around to adequately identify them and who they are. They can’t just come from on the moon, they need to identify them and then follow the other processes to ensure that they get to the root of the matter. But more importantly, that such a thing does not happen again,” Odulami said.
He also offered condolences to the family of the deceased and promised compensation.
The Ogun State Public Relations Officer, Oluseyi Babaseyi, confirmed the incident and said the police have launched an investigation.
“I can confirm that someone that is attached to Ministry of Planning was shot dead. I can also confirm that investigation is ongoing to get to the root of the incident. That’s all I can confirm. Every other thing, investigations will unravel it with time,” Babaseyi stated.
