Teenager Shot Dead Beside Father At Osun Palm-Wine Shop

A 14-year-old boy, Olapade Ezekiel, has been shot dead at a palm-wine shop where he was sitting with his father and other customers in Ilobu, Osun State, after gunmen allegedly arrived in a Sienna bus and opened fire.

The teenager was killed on June 21, 2026, when the attackers allegedly stormed the shop along Council Road, near the headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area, and began shooting sporadically.

Ezekiel’s father, Olugbenga Olapade, later reported the incident at the Ilobu Police Division, saying his son had sustained gunshot injuries. The teenager subsequently died, while another man, identified as Matthew John, popularly known as Mofoto, was also shot and injured.

Nearly four months after the incident, the Osun State Police Command announced on Friday that it had arrested five suspects in connection with the killing.

The suspects were identified as Saheed Kareem, 32, also known as Tanfiani; Ismail Yekeen, 24, known as Asumo Ayan; Abass Afeez, 32, popularly called SS Abass; Salako Taofeek, 30, known as Fenuso; and Abdulrauf Ogunshola, described by the police as a barrister.

In a statement issued on October 16, the police said the suspects had confessed to participating in the crime.

The command added that the other suspects identified Fenuso as the person who allegedly fired the shot that killed the teenager.

According to the police, Fenuso also identified a man known as Alaagba, who remains at large, as the alleged armourer and custodian of the firearm used during the attack.

The police said efforts were ongoing to arrest Alaagba.

The command, through its spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, said investigators would rely on credible evidence, forensic findings and other investigative procedures to establish the circumstances surrounding the killing and the individual roles of those involved.