Police blame suspected hoodlums for Osun shooting, identify deceased

Osun State Police Command has said 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 and released 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 said 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.

Giving details of how the attack occurred, the command said around 11 am on Monday, along the Ibadan–Ife Expressway, unidentified assailants suspected to be political thugs attacked a police patrol team attached to the Ikire Division.

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.”

According to the statement, the newly deployed Osun State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Zungura, has visited the scene for an on‑the‑spot assessment of the situation.

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It further said the Commissioner also directed a comprehensive investigation by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department, and the immediate deployment of tactical and intelligence assets to the area to identify, track, and apprehend the perpetrators.

Condemning what it called an ‘unprovoked attack on police personnel and the senseless loss of innocent lives,’ the command urged members of the public to remain calm and vigilant.

It appealed to anyone with credible, timely information that may assist in apprehending the assailants to report to the nearest police station or contact the Command.

It assured the public that necessary measures are being taken to restore and maintain security along the affected axis and across the state.

The PUNCH reports that two people were feared 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 videos of the incident obtained by our correspondent showed a man sitting in a vehicle and appearing to be dead, with an open wound on his head.

In another picture, a man was seen lying face down in a pool of blood.

Sources who spoke to PUNCH Online on condition of anonymity said drivers allegedly loyal to the All Progressives Congress had controlled the park until some drivers, said to be members of the Accord Party, arrived at about 10:30 am and allegedly attempted to take over the park.