Oyo state chapter of Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Amotekun has denied that its operatives killed any student of University of Ibadan, contrary to reports in some quarters.
National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) last week accused the security outfit of killing Akolade Gbadebo, a 400-level student of Federal College of Education Special (SPED), Oyo State – an institution in affiliation with University of Ibadan.
Some youths and students in Oyo State on Thursday stormed Oyo State Government Secretariat, protesting the alleged killing of Gbadebo.
Mayowa Opakunle, chairman of NANS joint campus committee in the state, said Gbadebo was shot dead by one of Amotekun corps, who were invited to clear a road barricade made by students around Sabo area of Oyo town.
He stated that Gbadebo was not an armed robber as claimed, stressing;
I was told that Amotekun corps were called that some students barricaded the road in the area. They came and somebody was said to have fired at them and they returned the fire. The bullet hit the student and he died. The incident happened around 10:30pm last Thursday.
However, in a statement by its Commandant, Col. Olayinka Olayanju (rtd), said Amotekun corps operatives only had an encounter with a three-man robbery gang last Sunday when they ran into an illegal roadblock.
He stated that the team neutralized the leader of the gang and handed the two surviving members to Atiba Police Station in Oyo town.
Olayanju added that investigation revealed the deceased was a known cultist and that he was also confirmed to be the leader of the robbery gang.
The statement reads;
On Sunday 20th December, 2020, at about 0040hrs ( past 12 midnight), a mobile patrol team of Amotekun operatives from Oyo East and Atiba Local Government Areas ran into an illegal roadblock mounted around Sabo area in Oyo town, at about 4 a.m.
While the team was attempting to clear the barricade to facilitate a smooth passage for interstate commercial vehicles plying the road, a group of armed men, suspected to be robbers, fired at the Amotekun operatives and a gun duel ensued.
In the process, one of the robbers, nicknamed Akin Sarz, was neutralised and two other gang members were arrested at the scene with a locally-made pistol with cartridges.
It added;
Men of Nigerian Police from Atiba were called to the scene where Amotekun operatives handed over the two arrested suspected armed robbers along with the corpse of Akin Sarz to them.
The police later handed over the surviving gang members to the State CID Iyangaku, Ibadan, for further investigation.
Preliminary investigation conducted at Atiba Police Post revealed the identity of the deceased as a student of the Federal College of Education Special (SPED), Oyo and a known cultist. The gang members confirmed that the deceased was their leader and that they had been terrorising the general area of Afijio and Oyo town for some time.
Olayanju wondered why NANS “would allow itself to be used as a tool to discredit Amotekun and score cheap political points against the state government”.
