Six injured as Police, Amotekun clash in Ondo

Pandemonium broke out on Sunday in Akure, Ondo state capital, when officers of the Nigeria Police Force and the South-West Security Outfits code-named Amotekun corps, engaged in a free-for-all, injuring six people.

It was gathered that confrontation erupted over the arrest of a suspected motorcycle thief, Tosin Adebisi, who was arrested by men of the Amotekun corps after stealing the motorcycle from a church near Sunday Bus Stop, Ijoka area of the state capital.

According to a witness, men of the two security outfits engaged in sporadic shooting when operatives from the Scorpion unit of the state Police command stormed the office of Amotekun Corps in the Ijoka axis of Akure metropolis.

It was gathered that the policemen who visited the Amotekun office were said to have forcibly taken away the suspect in the custody of Amotekun which generated into open confrontation between the two security outfits.

The dispute allegedly stemmed from an argument over which outfit would detain the suspect, while the Amotekun operatives who initially arrested the 18-year-old boy reinforced and forcibly took possession of both the suspect and the exhibits, the Amotekun men resisted them.

The sources explained that a complaint had been reported about a missing motorcycle at the Amotekun office, which prompted personnel from the corps to effect the arrest of the suspect, Adebisi in his house where the stolen motorcycle was retrieved.

He however, stated that shortly after the arrest by Amotekun personnel, police operatives from the Scorpion unit arrived and demanded that the suspect be released into their custody, but the Amotekun operatives declined, saying the suspect would only be released at their headquarters in Alagbaka.

The situation snowballed into a heated argument which led to the firing of gunshots into the air as well as the detonation of tear gas canisters, with the suspect forcibly taken away by the police.

The shooting caused panic and disrupted activities in the area, as residents fled for safety, with some Amotekun operatives allegedly injured in the standoff.

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When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Olayinka Ayanlade, explained that the police operatives were the first to arrive at the scene before the arrival of the Amotekun Corps, who was in the company of a large group of commercial motorcyclists.

He said, “In a disorderly and commando-like manner, the Amotekun personnel and accompanying individuals forcefully took custody of the suspect and the exhibits, in the process injuring a police officer.

“Following this, the Commissioner of Police, Ondo State Command, Mr. Wilfred Olutokunbo Afolabi, immediately directed tactical commanders to recover both the suspect and the exhibits.

“Subsequently, after intervention and dialogue led by the commanders of both agencies, the suspect and exhibits were returned to the police in the spirit of inter-agency cooperation.

“However, it must be stated that while the matter was being amicably resolved, a few aggrieved members of the Amotekun Corps, unhappy with the release of the suspect, began firing sporadically into the air.

“To prevent a breakdown of law and order and to disperse the agitated crowd without harm, the police officers at the scene responded with the professional use of tear gas. No exchange of gunfire occurred between the two agencies.”