Featured

How Innocent Taxi Driver Was Sentenced to Death in Osun: An Appeal to Mr Governor

Published

8 months ago

April 8, 2025

Eric

This is the other side of the story of Elijah Oyebode, a taxi driver who operates on the Ikirun/Akure route. On the night of December 22, 2016, he picked up a young woman named Rofiat Damilola Adebisi, a 400-level student at Osun State University, who was stranded in Ikirun and needed a ride to Oshogbo. Tragically, he was sentenced to death on April 2, 2020, alongside a customer who had chartered him on December 28, 2016 just because his name was stored on the phone of the Taxi driver. Both men now languish in prison, crying out for justice and proclaiming their innocence. They have appealed the judgment, but their appeal has not been heard since 2020.

Like Bartimaeus in the Bible, who cried out for mercy, we cannot ignore their pleas. When someone persistently claims innocence, it is crucial to listen to their story. This is the mission of the Centre for Justice, Mercy, and Reconciliation (CJMR); to shed light on the truth hidden in the shadows of injustice.

In most cases, it’s not just their stories that matter, but the truth hidden in the causes of our investigation that truly matters.

Today, we present the untold story of a taxi driver for your consideration. This account aims to highlight the reality of injustice and to call attention to the urgent need for intervention from the government and the public. We invite anyone with contrary or useful information to come forward and challenge the narrative that has led to this wrongful conviction.

We have obtained the court records for review and evaluation, and we find no reason why they should remain imprisoned for another 24 hours.

My name is Elijah Oyebode, and I am a taxi driver from Iragbiji, Osun State. I drive a car that belongs to my employer, Mr. Omotayo, who is a mechanic. On December 28, 2016, Mr. Omotayo introduced me to a man named Jelili Raji, who chartered my car that day to the Eleweran police station in Abeokuta.

On the night of December 22, 2016, at about 9 pm. I picked up a female passenger at the junction of Ipetu Jesha, who was traveling to Oshogbo. I informed her that I would be stopping in Ikirun. I had three passengers in total: one in the front seat and two in the back. We left Akure around 8 PM and arrived in Ikirun around 11 PM.

After all the passengers alighted, the lady moved to the front seat. I attempted to help her find another vehicle heading to Oshogbo from Ilorin, but after nearly an hour of waiting without success, she asked if she could stay at my place until the following morning. I jokingly responded, “What would I tell my wife?” even though I am a bachelor. She assured me that she would explain to my wife.

We then drove to my one-bedroom apartment in Iragbiji. When we arrived, it was late, and everyone else in the building had already gone to bed. My apartment is upstairs, and the bathroom is located downstairs in the backyard. I went downstairs to take a bath, and when I returned to my room, I found the lady lifeless on my bed. I was in shock and panic; it felt surreal. Unsure of what to do, I decided to move her body to the roadside, carrying her alone in my car and leaving her with her belongings.

The following day, while washing my car, I discovered her phone had been left behind. I gave the phone to my friend Yusuf Ajibade, who later sold it to someone else.

Arrest and Investigation

On January 8, 2017, I was arrested by the police after they traced the deceased’s phone to Yusuf Ajibade, who led the police to my location. During my arrest, the Department of State Services (DSS) examined my phone and scrutinized all my contacts, including those I had called since December 22. Many of these individuals were released after paying bribes, except for Jelili Raji and Yusuf Ajibade.

The police also arrested several men who were listed as contacts in the deceased’s phone, demanding money from them as well.

The police fabricated details about the incident, claiming that I and Yusuf Ajibade, the second accused, had engaged in sexual intercourse with the lady using charms, which led to her death. They suggested that Jelili Raji had given me the charm because I had stored his name in my phone as “Ifa,” a shortened version of his name, Ifashola. This led the police to develop a theory of ritual killing involving sexual intercourse, which contradicted the medical report.

I want to clarify that I did not have any sexual contact with the lady, nor did I even recognize her well since she sat in the back of my car during the ride. A medical report would have confirmed the truth if it were accurate that I had sexual relations with her.

It is possible that the lady may have died in my car on the way to Oshogbo, but it was less than 30 or 40 minutes after we arrived at my apartment that she passed away. Unfortunately, the police twisted the narrative against me, and on April 2, 2020, the judge sentenced both me and Jelili Raji to death, while Yusuf Ajibade received a two-year sentence as the second accused in this case.

I am sharing this account to present the truth of what happened. I swear by the Almighty God, I did not kill the lady; she died of natural causes.

Contrary to this story, here is the police’s twisted version of events.

The Evidence of PW1:
According to PW1, Sgt. Adeyeye Simon, attached to the Homicide Section of the State CID, Oshogbo, who testified and was sworn in by the Holy Bible on March 23, 2019: “I can see the three accused. I know the three of them. With respect to the case of murder involving one Damilola Rofiyat Adebisi, a student of Osun State University, Ipetu Ijesha campus, on December 22 and 23, 2016, I know the accused. The three accused were arrested and referred for investigation, in which I recorded the statement of the first accused in Yoruba language. It was later translated into English. The first accused stated that he is a commercial driver plying the Ikirun/Owena/Akure road. He traveled on that fateful day with passengers on board. When he got to Owena, he received a phone call from the second accused, asking him to meet him at a particular junction at Ipetu Ijesha. When he got to that junction, the second accused was there with a lady. The second accused called him aside and asked him to take him and the lady to Iragbiji, instructing him not to carry any passengers with them. As he was driving, the second accused and the lady were discussing in the back of the vehicle. They also ordered him not to move fast but to move slowly while heading to Iragbiji. He took the lady to the house of the first accused, where they had sexual intercourse. Thereafter, the second accused came outside to meet the first accused and asked whether he also had an interest in having sexual intercourse with the lady, which he also agreed to. The first accused then entered the room and had sexual intercourse with the lady. Afterward, he took the second accused and the lady to the house of the third accused, based on the instruction of the third accused. When they got there, they paid him and asked him to go. The first accused asked about the luggage of the lady in the boot of the vehicle, but the second accused asked the first accused to go away with it. It was late in the evening while enjoying himself at a hotel when he received another phone call from the second accused, directing him to meet him at the house of the third accused. It was there he was informed that the girl he brought there together with the two accused had died. He was instructed to keep it a secret and that they would use his vehicle to dispose of the body of the deceased in the bush, and he accepted. When they entered the room of the third accused, where he used to attend to clients, he being an herbalist, he saw that there were injuries from biting on the fingers of the lady and some marks of injury on the thigh of the lady.

Both the third accused and the second accused went with him, and together they dropped the body of the deceased in the bush along Egbeda Road, Iragbiji. Out of the items left behind in the car by the lady, the first accused only took a DVD and threw away the rest of the items into the bush at Oke Agunla area, Iragbiji. Thereafter, they returned to the house of the third accused, and the third accused then paid for his services.

**Here is the evidence of PW3, another police officer contradicting the evidence of PW1.**

**What was the evidence of PW3?**
PW3: Elects to affirm: I am Olatomiwa Alade, DSP. I work with the Department of State Services, Osun State Command. I know the three accused in the dock. On December 26, 2016, a report was lodged at the Command headquarters of the DSS, Osun State, that a student of Osun State University, Ipetu Ijesha campus, Rofiyat Damilola Adebisi, had been missing since December 22, 2016. Subsequently, the Command constituted a five-member investigation team, of which I am a member. My involvement was based on my training as a communication intelligence expert in Tel Aviv, Israel, and my role in the Investigation Department.

During the report, it was mentioned that the lady went incommunicado after leaving the university campus. This led the Command to request the call data records of the missing person’s phone. Upon receipt of the data, I analyzed it, and an iPhone was traced to one Kolapo Quadri, a resident of Ikirun town. Kolapo Quadri was invited to the Command to explain how he came into possession of the phone. He mentioned that one of his friends, Yusuff Ajibade, sold the phone to him. Yusuff Ajibade is one of the accused persons. Yusuff Ajibade was arrested by the operatives of the Command on January 8, 2017, and he volunteered a statement that the phone was acquired through Elijah Oyebode, the first accused person. Elijah Oyebode stated in writing that the white iPhone actually belonged to the deceased, Damilola Rofiyat Adebisi. Furthermore, Elijah Oyebode also stated that he took Rofiyat Adebisi to his house after attempting to entice her romantically. He claimed that he and Rofiyat Adebisi had intercourse, after which she passed away while he went to the bathroom. However, in an earlier statement, Elijah Oyebode claimed that after he picked Rofiyat up as a passenger along the Ipetu Ijesha highway, he hypnotized her with a fetish material, causing her to lose touch with her surroundings. He then led her in an unconscious state to one Jelili Raji, also known as Ifa, for ritual purposes. That was our information.

**COMMENTS:** The question that needs to be answered is: Did the deceased die in Jelili Raji’s house? Being an herbalist, was any part of the body removed from the deceased? We need to consult the medical report. The evidence of PW3, the DSS officer, appears to be more reliable than that of the police officers, PW1 and PW2. The evidence from the DSS officer shows that Yusuff Ajibade was never aware of Rofiat’s death; he did not know her. It was established that Elijah Oyebode only gave the second accused the phone to sell. This indicates that the statements of the police officers, PW1 and PW2, are fictional, based on imagination, and malicious. Such evidence, in my humble opinion, should not keep a man in the gallows for even 24 hours.

**Here is the evidence of the medical report.**

**PW5:** I now remember the incident very well. It was on December 27 when I was called to perform an autopsy on a lady. She was brought to the hospital by her relatives. I examined the corpse and found a young lady who was dead, well-fed, not pale or jaundiced (anicteric), and well-hydrated. There were bruises on the right thigh and the right part of the neck. I also examined her internal organs, and all were found to be normal. From the examination, we discovered that the lady suffered from strangulation, which led to an obstruction of blood flow to the brain, resulting in cardiac arrest.

**COMMENT:** It is significant to observe that the medical doctor who examined the body in detail did not indicate that any part of the body or organ of the deceased had been removed or tampered with, as would be expected in cases involving an herbalist. The absence of a clear motive supports this point. Additionally, the medical report did not indicate that any semen was found on her body during the autopsy. The report states that the lady suffered from strangulation and cardiac arrest—who strangled her, and for what purpose?

Upon re-examining this medical report, I have doubts. The DSS report indicates that the lady died in the room of the taxi driver on the night of December 22/23, yet this doctor stated, “I examined the corpse. I found a young lady who was dead, well-fed, not pale or jaundiced, and well-hydrated.” Is it possible for a dead body brought to the hospital to still maintain the condition of being “well-hydrated after 5 days”?

The report mentions, “There were bruises on the right thigh and the right part of the neck.” Who inflicted those bruises? Was it the third accused or the first accused? What is the link between the actions of the first and third accused and the deceased? What must be established is the connection between the first accused (or his actions) and the death of the deceased. In the absence of clear and unequivocal evidence that (1) the deceased died directly from an assault by the accused, or (2) that the accused was armed with any sharp instrument during the assault, it becomes necessary to have medical evidence on the cause of death to address the issue raised by the existence of “a long deep cut” on the deceased’s right thigh and a cut on the neck. Until these issues are resolved, we firmly believe that it would be very unsafe to convict for murder based solely on the circumstantial evidence available. The Romans had a maxim: it is better for a guilty person to go unpunished than for an innocent one to be condemned.

An evaluation of the evidence from PW1, PW2, PW3, PW4, and PW5 shows that there were no direct eyewitnesses to the death of the deceased. No charm was recovered from the third accused, Jelili Raji, and presented before the court as evidence related to the cause of death. The medical report did not indicate that the deceased died as a result of sexual intercourse with the first accused, Elijah Oyebode. All the evidence provided by PW1, PW2, PW3, PW4, and PW5 appears to be a figment of imagination.

When you hear about the injustice done against someone, what concrete steps do you take to address the injustice?

When confronted with stories of injustice, it is crucial to listen, investigate, and advocate for those who may not have a voice. The pursuit of truth and justice should be a collective responsibility, and this case serves as a poignant example of the need for vigilance in the face of potential miscarriages of justice.

We tell the story with integrity. We carry out thorough investigations to ensure that justice is served.

Featured

Atiku Abubakar Remains Only Person Tinubu Govt is Afraid Of – Dele Momodu (Full Interview)

Published

2 days ago

December 4, 2025

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

If there is one Nigerian, who can tell accurately the heartbeat of the nation, its direction and what the future portends for it, based on the dynamics already at play, that person is Chief Dele Momodu; a seasoned journalist, former presidential candidate, holder of high profile chieftancy titles across the country, and Chief Executive Officer, Ovation Media Group.

As a vocal politician and public speaker, whose voice echoes across the length and breadth of the nation for all the good reasons, Momodu has continued to speak against the cluelessness of the present government and the need for the government to redress its steps in terms of unpopular policies emanating from the cradle, which have rather impoverished the populace rather than do the opposite. He is credited with being the first to notice the government’s unpopular drift towards one-party system, and warned on the dangers. Today, almost all the state governors, national and state assembly members have all decamped to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Sustaining his credence as a value-adding speaker, Momodu was a guest of the fabulous, experience and adequately exposed Charles Aniagolu of Arise News(Night), where he further highlighted the challenges and remedies of the Nigerian situation.

He also spoke on the appointment of the former Chief of Defence Staff, General Chris Musa (retd) as the Minister of Defence, the withdrawal of Police eacort from very important personalities (VIPs) including the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and many other issues of national concern.

The text of the interview is presented in details even to the tiniest details below:

Momodu with former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar

Well, for more on this, I’m joined now from our studios in Lagos by the former presidential candidate and publisher of Ovation magazine, Basharu Dele Momodu. Mr. Momodu, thank you very much indeed for coming in. You look like you’re about to cry there. I mean, I know you had a bit of a tough time getting in, and I do apologize to our viewers because we’re quite a few minutes late. But you had a bit of a mishap coming in, and that delayed us a bit.

Dele Momodu: Yes. Well, we thank God that it was something minor. We had an accident on top of the bridge coming into the Arise studios, but we’re okay. Now, you asked if I am off the mark this…

Well, I’m going to get to that in a minute. Sorry to interrupt you – I want to be a bit systematic because we’ve got to gallop ahead, given that we’re, I mean, almost 12 minutes late in starting the program. Let me start by first of all getting your reaction to the confirmation of General Christopher Musa as the new Minister of Defence in the current climate of insecurity that’s gripping this country.

Dele Momodu: Well, I mean, I didn’t expect anything else. I expected that he would be screened — whether bow-and-go or not — he would be screened, and he would be ratified. And he’s been ratified, and I want to congratulate him. That’s all. I pray that we won’t hear sermons this time and that he will just go straight into action.

Yes, we all hope for that, don’t we? And we also got the news this evening that the National Economic Council has approved 100 billion naira for the renovation of training centres for the police and other security agencies across Nigeria. So that suggests that they’re serious about retraining serving police officers and training new ones. Is that the message that you’re getting from it?

Dele Momodu: Well, I would say that 100 billion is too small for the police and the security agencies. The government should do something better if it is serious about the insecurity that is terrorizing everybody in Nigeria. They would need to get serious, invest more in training, involve- I mean, invest in new personnel. The reasons they are saying they are withdrawing police from the streets are just because we don’t have enough of them. But we have enough jobless people in Nigeria, including graduates and non-graduates, who are willing to join the police force and other security agencies. So my advice is that President Tinubu should invest heavily in security. 100 billion to me, especially when you translate it into other currencies, it’s chicken feed.

Well, to be entirely fair, Bashorun, that 100 billion is for the renovation of training centers for the police. It’s not for the whole security recruitment thing. It’s purely to renovate the centres that have been left to kind of, you know, rot across the country, and he’s trying to bring them up to speed and at the same time get on with the recruitment of new police officers and move on with the training of existing ones.

Now, you spoke recently about the ban on police escorts for VIPs. You called it a targeted move against opposition figures like Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who you support, and who is constitutionally entitled to security protection. You argued that the ban is a calculated move to weaken opposition voices and fuel resentment against successful Nigerians, and that it’ll expose prominent Nigerians to danger. I wonder why you think all that, because public sentiment in Nigeria seems to be in support of President Tinubu’s decision to ban the use of police escorts by VIPs. And it looks like you are the one who is off the mark this time.

Dele Momodu: No, I’m not off the mark. I remember in October 2022, when I foretold the dictatorship that would soon visit Nigeria. I was abused that night — that I’m talking rubbish. You see, I am trained to go behind the scene to find the real stories. A lot of Nigerians get easily, easily fooled. And if you read my press release yesterday, I said it there that we have been fooled again. What they are doing is to set the poor against the rich. And whenever you do that, you will get an applause, you will get an ovation. But the truth is that most people are not thinking about the real motive behind this decision.

If you look at Lagos State, for example, when they had the problem in the House of Assembly, you will see that one of the things they used to intimidate the people was, one, they sent some forces in to disrupt the house. Then they withdrew the police security that was guarding the brother of the new speaker. They withdrew the police from Oba Elegushi. It’s nothing new. So if we start the campaign, let’s say in January — I don’t know when we are starting — tell me, who will risk his life criss-crossing Nigeria without police escort?

We should stop being fooled. You see, the sentiment is that, oh yes, all of us should suffer. There is no country in the world where you don’t have VIPs. And it’s never a crime to be successful. As a matter of fact, those who should lose their security are those politicians in Abuja and not the ordinary man, not a Dangote, not an Abdulsamad. Imagine a time when a kidnapper said he almost got Aliko, if not for his heavy security.

So you will see – I’ve said it again today – when tomorrow comes, and events begin to unfold, you will remember that only one man warned you that this is part of the plot to suffocate the opposition.

Well, I mean, I think that obviously you’re entitled to your opinion, but a lot of people will probably disagree with that because the government didn’t say that they were going to completely leave VIPs naked without protection. They talked about redrafting civil defense people to become protectors. And members of civil defense — they carry guns and very sophisticated weapons at that. And of course, it’s not just directed at the opposition; members of the government and the VIPs are also subject to the same restrictions.

But let’s move on from there because I’m concerned that we lost a lot of time at the beginning. I want to get your response to a lot of things because it’s not every day that we have you sitting there. I don’t know whether you’ve heard this, but it’s being reported tonight that the US government has introduced a new policy which allows it to impose a visa ban on people considered responsible for the attack on Nigerian Christians.

The State Department issued a statement saying the policy allows it to deny visas to those who have directed, authorized, supported, participated in, or carried out abuses targeting people based on faith. And it said that family members of affected people are also subject to the restrictions, and that the US cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria. What’s your reaction to that? Does it sound like all the attempts by the Nigerian government to convince the Americans that there isn’t genocide targeted specifically at Christians have failed?

Dele Momodu: You see, when you have bullies in power, people will also jubilate when a bigger bully comes to bully them. So what’s happening in Nigeria right now is that a lot of people feel hopeless. They feel helpless, and they are excited that there is a bigger bully. The same way you said, “Oh, people are happy that they are withdrawing security from…” is the same way America is bullying us now, and you can see us reacting.

It took us over two years to react, to what? To appoint ambassadors who will represent our country. So I think the game continues, and I can tell you that a lot of Nigerians, especially on social media, are very excited that for once, at least, our leadership is listening to someone, and that’s President Donald Trump. So if that’s what it takes for our country to get serious, maybe that’s what we needed, and that’s what we are getting.

And Mr. Momodu, as you assess the political landscape inside Nigeria using your very blunt and unapologetic assessment indicators, what do you see as we approach 2027? Is it, as some have suggested, a done deal for President Tinubu and the APC, given the many failures of the opposition? Because I see you being quoted as saying that no southern candidate — not even Goodluck Jonathan or Peter Obi — can defeat President Tinubu in 2027.

Dele Momodu: Oh, I’ve been saying that for long. It’s nothing new. nothing is a done deal for President Tinubu. About two months ago, no one expected him to suddenly sit up and respond to America. But now we are responding. So we don’t know what’s going to happen in the coming weeks that may further get them sober.

What we witnessed in the past was the giddiness — “Oh, we are the ones in charge, nothing can happen.” But suddenly we see them reacting to forces from America, which is unfortunate because to govern Nigeria is not too difficult. Nigerians — we’re the most tolerant human beings; otherwise, we wouldn’t be where we are now. We tolerate everything.

And I know that 2027 is not yet a done deal. But the opposition must get its act together. I’ve said it before on this programme that actions and reactions are always equal and opposite, according to Isaac Newton. So that’s my scientific analysis of what is going to happen.

Any southerner who goes into the race now – an average southerner will say, “After all, we already have Tinubu there, so why are we worrying ourselves?” So, the force that we need to energize the opposition, I believe it will not be there. There are three key things when it comes to presidential elections. Number one is ethnicity — where the candidate comes from. No northerner is going to come and die to come and defend a southern candidate if, let’s say, for example, he’s rigged out of the election. But when you have your own candidate, it’s more than likely that you will be more enthused to vote for that candidate.

And that is why I said, look, don’t let us waste our time. And I’ve said it — you know me, I’ve said it — I said the only person this government is afraid of is Atiku Abubakar. I will continue to say it. And since Atiku and Peter Obi ran together in 2019, I supported them then, and I was not a member of PDP. So it should be easier for them to come back together.

We have less than one year to prepare for that election. While Tinubu is already campaigning, cajoling, and, you know, coercing whoever he can, we are still busy thinking who is going to be our candidate. I think we are wasting too much time. Now is the time to do what is necessary.

And just following up on that, you recently described Peter Obi’s candidacy as independent because, according to you, he doesn’t have a party and has shown unwillingness to build and work with the ADC. But I mean, many of his supporters disagree with you and say that he is still a member of the Labour Party for now, and that the party has been making behind-the-scenes moves towards reconciliation and could well pull a rabbit out of a hat in 2027. What’s your assessment of that?

Dele Momodu: Now you have gone in the realm of magic. I am not a magician and I don’t see any magic that would awaken Labour Party or PDP and that APC will fold its arms and allow such a platform for Obi. I mean, the truth of the matter is that, you know, he’s a man I respect so much. If you look at it right now, I believe he’s party-less, like most of our opposition leaders.

He has not yet made up his mind, and he joined the ADC last week. So anybody who wants to run a year to election and you have not yet made up your mind, I think it’s proving more difficult. that’s why I said an independent candidate. But he has not said that he’s opposed to ADC, so we need to correct that. He has not said that he’s opposed. What I think he’s opposed to is maybe having to go through a convention — a primary — and ADC said everybody should come to the primary: if you win, you win, then others will support.

But I think it’s going to be difficult for any party to donate a ticket — especially any formidable party — at this stage, to donate a ticket to any candidate. I don’t even think Atiku can get an automatic ticket in ADC; he will have to fight for it. So let them — I mean, you have Roti… one of the most experienced politicians in the history of Nigeria. So they are all there; let them go and fight for it. And that is what a true democrat should do.

The only person who will get an automatic ticket, and already has, is President Tinubu. So for anybody to be shopping for a ticket at this stage, I think we need to get very serious. I’m being brutally frank.

Indeed, and that’s what we like about you – your brutal frankness. And in that regard, let’s talk a little bit about you as a prominent media personality. I mean, do you see your role as a commentator as influencing government policy or shaping public opinion?

Dele Momodu: Well, for me, I am like a prophet. I was born in an Aladura church, and I was named Joseph. I dream a lot. I see visions. And most of my predictions about Nigeria have come to pass, even after people have abused me.

They used to tell me, “Oh, you like supporting losers.” But now they can see that I support common sense. It does not matter whether you are going to win or you are not going to win. That’s the role God has chosen for me, and I have gladly accepted it.
So those who want quick fixes or quick, you know, appointments, of course, would always join the ruling party. When I supported Buhari the other time, I never went there to do anything. They invited me; I told them my piece of mind. So it tells you that I’m not desperate for anything.
For me as a person, I will continue to influence the younger ones. Everywhere I go – and I travel virtually every week – the young people come to me, even on flights, and say, “Thank you for speaking up.” A lot of people don’t speak up. That is why we believe Nigeria is populated by bad people. There are a lot of good people who are voiceless. And so they are looking for someone to just tell them where to go.
And I am happy that most things that I have said have come. I predicted that there would be a dictatorship, and that one didn’t take much. So as a prophet, I’m enjoying it.

Well, we like having you, and thank you very much indeed for taking the time to talk to us. And thank you for being there tonight. And also, I hope everything goes well because I know you had a bit of a mishap getting into the studio.
Dele Momodu — Basharun Dele Momodu — is a former presidential candidate and publisher of Ovation magazine. He was talking to me from our studios in Lagos.

Featured

Davido Hails Uncle, Gov Adeleke on Resignation from PDP

Published

4 days ago

December 3, 2025

Eric

Nigerian Afrobeat music singer, David Adeleke aka Davido, has commented on his uncle, Governor Ademola Adeleke, after he resigned from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), posting “Jeje…” on his X page.

Adeleke, who represented Osun West as Senator and currently serves as the governor of the State, announced his resignation in a letter dated November 4, 2025, citing the party’s national leadership crisis.

The letter titled ‘Resignation of my membership of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP)’ read: “Due to the current crisis of the national leadership of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), I hereby resign my Membership of the Peoples’ Democratic Party with immediate effect.”

He expressed gratitude for the opportunities afforded to him by the PDP.

“I thank the Peoples’ Democratic Party for the opportunities given to me for my elections as a Senator (Represented Osun West) and as Governor of Osun State under the Peoples’ Democratic Party,” he added.

The resignation has sparked reactions, with Davido’s post sparking speculation about the implications for the party.

Featured

Book of Infamy: Umo Eno, Umar Bago, Egbetokun Listed Among Media Unfriendly Public Officers

Published

4 days ago

December 2, 2025

Eric

Niger and Akwa Ibom state governors, Umar Bago and Umo Eno respectively, have been listed in the “Book of Infamy” by the International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria as the worst offenders of media repression in the country.

The IPI also included the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, in the blacklist for continued police harassment and attacks on journalists.

This was made known on Tuesday during the IPI Annual Conference in Abuja, with Vice President Kashim Shettima and Minister of Information and National Orientation, in attendance.

At the conference, IPI President Musikilu Mojeed said the governors and the police chief have consistently prevented journalists from performing their legitimate responsibilities.

He said, “Mohammed Umar Bago, Niger Governor, Umo Eno, Governor of Akwa Ibom and the IG of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, are hereby written in the book of infamy.”

Mojeed added that Egbetokun was added for “failing to uphold his constitutional duties and allowing systematic media oppression”.

In recent years, media reports have highlighted multiple instances of repression under the two governors.

In August 2025, Governor Umar Bago was reported to have ordered the closure of Badeggi FM, a privately owned radio station in Minna, Niger State, accusing it of inciting violence.

The station was sealed by security agents, prompting condemnation from rights organisations such as Amnesty International and the Nigerian Bar Association, which described the move as unlawful and an attack on independent journalism.

Earlier in 2025, a postgraduate student at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Isah Mokwa was reportedly arrested and detained after criticising Governor Bago on social media.

In Akwa Ibom State, under Governor Umo Eno, a Channels Television reporter and cameraman were expelled from the Government House Press Centre in May 2025 after airing a video in which the governor allegedly announced plans to defect from his political party.