The police in Ogun State have launched an investigation into the death of a man during a clash between enforcement officials of the Ogun State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development and military personnel over the demolition of illegal structures in Orile-Imo, Obafemi-Owode Local Council.

The deceased, identified as Oluwaseyi Adeoye, was allegedly shot during an argument between the ministry workers and the soldiers. He was rushed to the State General Hospital, Ijaiye, where he was pronounced dead on arrival by the doctor on duty.

Adeoye was part of the team deployed by the ministry to demolish illegal structures in the area on Monday, February 23, 2026.

Narrating the incident, an official, Makinde Ibrahim, said the team was confronted by military personnel on arrival at the site and warned not to proceed with the demolition. However, their leader, identified as Hazmat, insisted on carrying out the exercise.

Ibrahim said this angered the soldiers, leading to an argument that escalated into a clash, during which Adeoye was shot.

He said: “They actually wanted to kill everyone, but we had to scramble for safety.

“When we got to the site, the team engaged the engineer on the ground who begged, but he insisted that the demolition must be carried out.

“He ordered us to pull down three structures, but one soldier barked at us and asked us to leave. However, the team leader insisted that we must carry out our duty.

“We were accompanied by seven police officers, but they couldn’t do anything.”

Reacting to the incident, Chairman of the Concrete Dealers Association, Kolawole Obadeyi, blamed the team leader for the clash.

Obadeyi said the leader should have withdrawn upon discovering the presence of military personnel and called for reinforcement to protect team members.

He said: “We have been working with the ministry for decades and there are usually clashes on site, but I blame the team leader in this case.

“When they got there and discovered soldiers at the location, they ought to have retreated. Most times, what should happen is to call for reinforcement so that the demolition does not turn bloody. We have been working with the ministry for about 38 years now.”

“It was shocking that we lost Oluwaseyi because of a N10,000 daily job. He only went out to earn a living. This is unfortunate.”

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Tunji Odulami, described the death as unfortunate and said security agencies had been contacted to identify those responsible.

“Right now, we are reaching out to all the security agencies to adequately identify them and who they are. They can’t just come from the moon. We need to identify them and follow due process to get to the root of the matter.

“But more importantly, such a thing must not happen again,” he said.

He commiserated with the family of the deceased and promised that the government would compensate them.

When contacted, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Oluseyi Babaseyi, said an investigation had commenced to identify and arrest the person responsible.

He said: “I can confirm that someone attached to the 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 with time.”