Commercial and economic activities were paralysed yesterday in Ilobu, headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area of Osun State as commercial motorcycle riders clashed with policemen in the town.
In the process, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (name withheld) and three junior police officers were shot while five civilians reportedly died from gunshot injuries.
The incident came exactly two weeks after a police constable shot a cyclist in Ikirun township, leading to a serious crisis and consequent attack on the police station in the town.
Saturday Sun gathered that trouble started in the early hours of the day at a police check-point mounted few metres away from the Ilobu Police Divisional Headquarters, where a vehicle knocked down a commercial motorcyclist, popularly called okada rider.
A reliable source confided in Saturday Sun that the police were on a stop-and-check duty and were checking a vehicle when the okada rider tried to escape by passing the other side of the vehicle, an action that allegedly infuriated one of the policemen on duty.
The police officer was said to have hit the okada rider with the butt of his gun, which made the motorcyclist to lose control and in the process ran into an on-coming vehicle.
Other riders at the scene were said to have raised alarm with the belief that the okada rider, who was knocked down by the vehicle was dead. Few minutes later, some irate youths, suspected to be okada riders, stormed the police checkpoint, chased the policemen away and marched towards the police station threatening to set it ablaze.
In the process of repelling the mob, Saturday Sun learnt that reinforcement was sent to the town, while the youths also came out with guns and other dangerous weapons.
An Assistant Superintendent of Police and three other police officers were said to have been shot by the youths, which led to hot exchange of gunshots. Five civilians were allegedly shot dead in the melee that followed, while unspecified number of people sustained gunshot injuries.
The crisis forced the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Solomon Olusegun, to the town to meet with the traditional ruler of Ilobu, Olobu of Ilobu, Oba Ashiru Olatoye Olaniyan, on how to douse the tension. The CP did not return to his office until 4.30p.m yesterday.
The aggrieved youths rebuffed all entreaties by the Olobu to maintain peace and allow for amicable settlement of the matter, as they insisted on burning down the police station in the town.
A source confided in Saturday Sun that the royal father was almost stoned while appealing to the rioting youths at the police station.
When contacted on the incident yesterday, CP Olusegun, however, said that only two persons were injured.
According to him, a police officer and one of the protesting youths were injured in the incident, which he described as ‘a minor riot.’
Attempt by Saturday Sun to get to Ilobu town yesterday around 11.40a.m was frustrated by stern-looking, fully armed mobile policemen stationed at Oke-Awesin area along Ilobu/Osogbo Road, as one of the officers at the point advised against going into the town
“The CP is inside the town, but I will advice you to turn back. The place is still boiling,” the mobile Inspector stated.
Two police patrol pick-up vans were also seeing conveying corpses and injured persons to the state’s Hospital, Asubiaro, yesterday.
On a visit to the hospital, an official of the hospital confided in Saturday Sun that only two corpses were dumped at the morgue of the hospital while “those injured, including a policeman, were rejected because the hospital could not handle their case.”
The hospital source stated that the injured persons were later referred to Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH) for proper attention.
A source at Ilobu also told Saturday Sun on phone that three corpses were brought to the palace of Olobu yesterday by the youths of the town, adding that the traditional rulers has appealed for calm.
The source blamed the crisis on the refusal of the rioting youths to listen to elders’ appeal and intervention, which led to the escalation of the crisis.
As at the time of filing this report around 4.48p.m, it was gathered that more reinforcement was still being deplored to Ilobu, as one of the security sources told Saturday Sun, “there is calm now but we don’t know what they still are planning.”
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