Hon Temitope Olatoye: How Oyo Sugar was shot dead

Hon Temitope Olatoye, famously known as Sugar, who represents Lagelu/Akinleye constituency of Oyo State in the federal House of Representatives, was making the journey from his village after casting his vote in the governorship election of Saturday, March 9, 2019, when some political thugs ambushed him and assailed him with a hail of bullets.

One bullet was lodged in his head from pointblank range, leaving him fatally wounded.

Pulse understands that Olatoye, who was gunned down in Elesu village, Lalupon, Lagelu, was immediately rushed to the Accident and Emergency ward of the University College Hospital in Ibadan by his supporters, before being moved to the Intensive Care Unit, where doctors battled to save his life.

At about 7:45pm of the same day, Olatoye was declared dead by doctors.

Who killed the lawmaker?

Punch reports that a close aide of the lawmaker had revealed that some suspected political thugs of a rival politician in the constituency, carried out the attack.

The politician's name wasn't given.

In 2011, Olatoye contested and won the election into the Oyo State House of Assembly on the platform of the Accord Party.

Olatoye was a serving lawmaker until his death (Punch) Olatoye Pulse Nigeria

He would later defect to the then Action Congress of Nigeria from Accord Party.

Olatoye was elected into the House of Representatives on the platform of the APC in 2015, but defected to the Action Democratic Party (ADP), the political party of former Oyo Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala.

He lost his re-election battle to the House on Feb 23, 2019, on the ADP platform.

He had vowed never to return to the APC.

Speaker of the House mourns

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, said he “received with shock, the sad and distressing news of the assassination of my brother and colleague, Hon. Olatoye Temitope Sugar, in Oyo State today. The murder of Hon Sugar in election violence today is primitive, wicked, inhumane, barbaric and highly condemnable”.

Dogara described the late Olatoye as “a fine gentleman, committed patriot, dedicated, hardworking lawmaker and worthy representative of his people. We mourn him and all those whose lives were cut short by forces of evil and soulless men. Our heartfelt condolences to their families. We pray for speedy recovery”.

Speaker House of Reps, Yakubu Dogara, mourns a colleague (The Nation) Pulse Nigeria

The Speaker also charged President Muhammadu Buhari to “set up a commission to investigate these killings and bring the perpetrators to book”.

He lamented that “Nigeria is still stuck in the dark, primitive and uncivilised age where elections are seen as war and a do-or-die affair. The killers of Hon Sugar and all those who lost their lives in election related violence must be brought to book”.

Violent elections

Nigeria’s federal and state elections have been marred by violence, vote buying and ballot box snatching.

More than 50 persons reportedly died during the presidential and federal legislative vote of Feb 23.

Cases bordering on ballot box snatching, burning down of INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) offices and physical assaults on journalists and notable politicians were rife during the governorship and House of Assembly elections of March 9.

Before Olatoye was shot dead, a member of the PDP in Oyo, simply identified as Mudasiru, was also shot dead by a police officer in Ile Titun area of Ibadan South-East local government, Punch reports.

The death of a student in the 2019 elections has become a viral conversation. The deceased Daniel Usman was reportedly shot by gunmen yet to be identified. [Nigerian Eye] The death of a student in the 2019 elections has become a viral conversation. The deceased Daniel Usman was reportedly shot by gunmen yet to be identified. [Nigerian Eye] Pulse Nigeria

An election observer was shot dead in Enugu, Southeast of Nigeria, during the vote.

The governorship election took place in 29 of Nigeria’s 36 states, while the state legislative vote took place in all 36 states.

1,158 governorship candidates contested Nigeria’s gubernatorial election.

Results of the vote are still being collated at the time of filing this story.