The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adeleke, a former civilian governor of Osun,  died in the earlier hours of Sunday at Biket  Hospital in Osogbo.

Adeleke’s corpse,  which was brought to his residence in Ede at 1:10 pm in preparation for the Islamic burial rites,  was returned back to Ladoke Akintola Hospital in Osogbo for autopsy.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt  that the younger brother of the late politician,  Deji,  ordered for autopsy  to be carried out to ascertain  the cause of  death.

Deji was also said to have  directed  that the burial ceremony be postponed till Monday.

Friends and sympathisers,  who were waiting for the burial ceremony, were told  around 5:30 pm that  the event  had  been postponed.

A  family source said the burial had  been fixed for 10: am on Monday,  pending the outcome of the autopsy.

Giving a picture of the developments leading to the demise of the late flamboyant politician, one of  the  domestic staff  told NAN that   Adeleke had attended  a meeting till around 2: am on Sunday before he went to bed.

The staff, who spoke on condition of anonymity,  said Adeleke also  attended burial and wedding ceremonies in Guta and Iwo  on Saturday.

The source further explained that early in the morning on  Sunday, Adeleke complained of leg pain and his private doctor was called in to attend to him.

According to the staff, the doctor gave him an injection and he left, only to be called back after the senator complained   of stomach ache.

” He was later rushed to Biket  Hospital where he was finally confirmed dead,’’  the source said.

The news of the death had resulted  in violent protests by  youths  in Ede, with many of them barricading  the ever busy Osogbo-Ibadan road and setting  bonfires which   disrupted  the free flow of traffic.

It took the combined efforts of both the regular and mobile police force to disperse  the irate  youths.

The Police Commissioner in the state, Mr Fimihan Adeoye, who said normalcy had been restored in the area, urged  the youths to refrain from violence

As at the time of filing this report, two armoured personnel carriers  were stationed at the road leading to Adeleke’s house in Ede while one was stationed directly opposite his residence.

Meanwhile the Osun Government  said it was in shock  over  Adeleke’s sudden death.

A statement issued on Sunday by Mr Semiu Okanlawon, the Director of Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Governor’s Office, described the death  as a nightmare.

He  said Adeleke’s sudden death   was hard to accept.

“The sad news of the death of the first civilian governor of our state, Alhaji Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, has struck us like a thunderbolt.

” Gov. Rauf Aregbesola, who is far away in China on state assignment,  is still speechless and in mourning.

“While the government awaits the reports of the autopsy which is being conducted, we can only calm our people to take this huge and incalculable loss with equanimity.

“Alhaji Adeleke, no doubt, has served our dear state well.

” First as its civilian governor and currently as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where he has provided adequate representation for the people of his senatorial district and the state.

“He was a politician with towering dossier.

“We find this loss inexplicable but we are restrained by the fact that we cannot query the verdicts of our Creator, the Almighty.

“We commiserate with the good people of Osun over this sad loss.

We are still in shock,” Okanlawon  said.

Similarly, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Sunday  described the death of Adeleke  as a rude shock.

A statement issued by  Mr Moses Olafare,  a media aide to the monarch, said Adeleke’s sudden death was a great loss to the state and the country at large.

A former governor in the state, Mr Olagunsoye Oyinlola, in a statement  in Osogbo, also described Adeleke’s death  as a monumental loss.

Oyinlola,  who said he was on his way to Osogbo from Lagos when the news was broken to him, said  he was still in shock.

He described Adeleke as a brother, friend and confidant whose demise had made him, the state and the political class in Nigeria poorer.

Oyinlola  prayed God to grant his soul eternal peace.

The Osun chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party in a statement  described Adeleke’s death  as shocking and  devastating.

The party,  in a statement by its  Chairman, Mr Soji Adagunodo,  said Adeleke was a grassroots politician whose impact on the life of the people was noticeable and remarkable.

Adagunodo  said the party  had  declared a three-day mourning  for  Adeleke, adding that  the PDP’s flag  in the state would  be flown at half mast in honour of  the late politician. (NAN)