Some youths in Ifonyintedo, Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State, reportedly set fire to two police stations on Wednesday following the alleged killing of a father of a newborn, Owolabi Oniyiku, at a police checkpoint in the community.
A community leader who spoke with our correspondent on Thursday on the condition of anonymity said Oniyiku, a Lagos-based resident, had returned to the community with some friends to celebrate the Oro festival when he was allegedly shot by policemen.
The source said the incident occurred around Akinde Junction, on the Ifonyintedo axis, where he described the police facility as a makeshift checkpoint that had allegedly become notorious for harassment of motorists and commercial motorcyclists.
“There is a police checkpoint—a makeshift shed there. It is not an official checkpoint. The police officers there usually harass people a lot. Every bike that passes through that area, they harass it.
“They started harassing all the commercial motorcyclists passing by and taking them away. They reportedly arrested about 15 motorcyclists.”
The source added that Oniyiku had taken his friends who were returning to Lagos to Ilashe, and while he was coming back, he was reportedly confronted by the policemen, during which the shooting occurred.
“This guy who was killed was taking his friends to Ilashe. Maybe on his way back, they accosted him. Maybe they wanted to collect his bike from him; I don’t know what led to the argument, and the guy was killed straight away.
“He was not armed; he had nothing on him, and he was killed on the spot,” the source alleged.
He said the incident was particularly painful because Oniyiku’s wife had reportedly given birth to a baby only two days earlier.
“And they said his wife just had a baby two days ago. So, it’s quite unfortunate,” he said.
Following the alleged killing, the source said some youths carried Oniyiku’s corpse to the police station, where tension reportedly escalated, resulting in the burning of two police stations in the community.
He said one of the facilities was a recently completed community police station, while the other was an older, dilapidated station that had continued to serve the area.
He added that the old police station was also set ablaze.
A senior security officer in the area, who did not want to be mentioned in print for lack of authorisation to speak with the press, confirmed the incident.
“The incident happened, but I cannot give further details on it at the moment,” the source said.
Also reacting, the Ipokia Local Government Youth Forum called for an immediate and transparent investigation into the alleged killing.
The group, in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Adeyemi Olusegun, on Thursday, alleged that Oniyiku was killed at an unauthorised checkpoint along the road.
He described the incident as “deeply disturbing” and demanded that all officers who were present at the alleged checkpoint be identified and investigated.
Olusegun demanded an immediate and comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding Oniyiku’s death, as well as disciplinary and criminal proceedings against any officer found culpable.
The youth body also called on the police authorities to communicate with the deceased’s family and offer an apology and a condolence visit.
The forum further demanded the disbandment of what it described as an illegal checkpoint where the incident allegedly occurred, as well as other unauthorised checkpoints along Ifonyintedo Road.
He said, “We demand disbandment of the illegal, unauthorised checkpoint where the incident happened and other illegal checkpoints along Ifonyintedo Road and provide empirical mandate, deployment order, and personnel attached to the checkpoint and rules governing their operations.”
The group alleged that residents had previously suffered harassment, extortion and other forms of abuse by some police personnel operating in the area.
It also claimed that Oniyiku’s death was the third alleged police-related killing of a youth in the area in three years, citing the death of Adeleye Eniola in an earlier incident.
The forum said it had resolved to protest at police formations in the Ipokia Local Government to express its opposition to what it described as the continued killing of youths in the area.
“We call on all our members, the people of Ifonyintedo, community leaders and other stakeholders to remain calm and law-abiding while demanding justice through legitimate and constitutional channels,” the statement added.
The group urged the Inspector-General of Police and the Ogun State Commissioner of Police to intervene, saying an impartial investigation was necessary to establish what happened and restore public confidence.
“The death of Mr Owolabi Oniyiku must not become another unresolved case as we deserve answers; likewise, his family deserves justice, and the community deserves accountability,” Olusegun concluded.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Babaseyi Oluseyi, proved abortive as he had yet to respond to calls and messages sent to his line at the time of filing this report on Thursday.
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