A fresh graduate of the Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke, identified simply as Taoreed, has been confirmed dead after being struck by a stray bullet during a clash between rival cult groups in the community.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, September 23, shortly after he collected his National Youth Service Corps call-up letter from the institution.
Chaos had first erupted around the school premises on Monday, September 22, when gunshots rang out during a signing-out celebration by final-year students.
A student, who spoke with our correspondent on Thursday but preferred not to be named, confirmed that a final-year student was killed in the process by suspected cultists.
He said, “We were signing out after our exams in the afternoon when we suddenly started hearing gunshots outside the school premises. Everyone ran for cover. It was later that we discovered that a final-year student had been killed by cultists. It was a terrible situation.”
A video sighted on Thursday showed students scampering for safety near the school gate.
The student recalled that a similar incident occurred last year when gunshots were also heard around the premises during another sign-out celebration.
A police source disclosed that Taoreed’s death happened the following day during a reprisal attack along the Ilesa–Esa-Oke Road.
According to the source, Taoreed had visited the school on Tuesday to collect his NYSC call-up letter and was waiting by the roadside to board a bus home when gunmen opened fire.
“What happened was a reprisal after the final-year student was killed on Monday. The cultists had targeted their rivals in the area where Taoreed was trying to board a bus.
“They started shooting, and one of the stray bullets hit him. When he heard the gunshots, he ran for safety without realising he had been hit. He was later found in a nearby bush, where he crawled to but was unresponsive.”
His call-up letter was later found inside a black cross bag he was carrying at the time.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, confirmed the incident.
He described it as a cult clash and noted that two people were killed.
“It was a cult clash. Two students were killed. One died on the spot, and the other died in the hospital. Efforts are ongoing to arrest the perpetrators,” he said.
Over the years, cult rivalry has left several students dead in communities with higher institutions, often triggered by supremacy battles, reprisals, or forced recruitment of undergraduates.
It was reported in June that another violent clash in Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, involving Eiye and Aye confraternities, where one man was feared dead and four others injured.
