Osun State Police Command has disclosed that suspected hoodlums who snatched an AK‑47 service rifle from its personnel were responsible for the killing of two persons in Ikire on Monday.
In a statement signed by the command Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Ojelabi, obtained in Osogbo on Tuesday, the police identified the victims of the shooting incident as Nurení Sobowale, male, aged 49 years, of Odeda Area, Abeokuta, and Saheed Akinrole, male, aged 43 years, of Adeagbo Compound, Ikire.
The police also mentioned that two police officers sustained serious injuries during the attack, adding that a patrol vehicle attached to Ikire Division was forcefully taken away by the assailants during the attack.
“It was later abandoned and subsequently recovered with multiple bullet holes and a destroyed windscreen. Nine expended ammunition shells were recovered at the scene of the incident and have been secured for forensic analysis.
“The remains of the two deceased civilians have been deposited at Oluyoro Catholic Mortuary, and their families have been duly notified. The injured police officers were initially taken to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment and have since been referred to the University College Hospital, Ibadan, for advanced medical care,” the statement read.
According to the command, at 11 a.m. on Monday, unidentified assailants suspected of being political thugs attacked an Ikire Division police patrol squad on the Ibadan-Ife Expressway.
The statement further read, “The patrol team, accompanied by the Divisional Police Officer of Ikire Division, was responding to a distress call regarding the alleged abduction of one Sunkanmi, male, surname unknown. Upon arrival at the location, the officers came under sudden and unprovoked attack by a group of unidentified hoodlums.
“The assailants opened fire on the police officers while they were inside their operational vehicle and succeeded in snatching one AK‑47 service rifle. The hoodlums used the stolen weapon to fire indiscriminately, resulting in the tragic loss of two innocent civilians.”
The recently posted Osun State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Zungura, has visited the scene to examine the situation.
It further stated that the commissioner ordered a thorough investigation by the deputy commissioner of police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department, as well as the urgent deployment of tactical and intelligence assets to the area to identify, track, and catch the culprits.
The command condemned what it called an ‘unprovoked attack on police personnel and the senseless loss of innocent life’ and encouraged the people to be calm and watchful.
It urged anyone with genuine, timely information that could help catch the offenders to report to their nearest police station or contact the command.
It reassured the public that all required steps are being taken to restore and maintain security along the affected axis and throughout the state.
Chronicle NG reports that two people were killed in Ikire, Osun State, on Monday following an alleged attempt to take over a motor park at Naira and Kobo Junction in the town.
One of the clips seen by our correspondent depicted a man seated in a vehicle, seeming to be dead, with an open cut on his head
Another photo shows a man lying face down in a pool of blood.
Sources said drivers reportedly loyal to the All Progressives Congress had controlled the park until some drivers, said to be members of the Accord Party, arrived at approximately 10:30 am and allegedly attempted to take over the park.
