No fewer than two people and a police officer were killed at Oke- Odan town in Yewa South local government area of Ogun state on Wednesday, when irate youths engaged men of the police as well as officers of the state military security outfit, OP MESA in gun duel over the killing of one of them.
The three day crisis, which started on Monday culminated in the killing of a police Inspector on Tuesday by the angry youths who also burnt down two police vehicles and vandalised 12 others.
Eye witness account said that the crisis started on Monday afternoon when a police officer attached to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FED-SARS) from Zone II, Onikan Lagos, Inspector Olusesan Sounde shot and killed a 30 year-old man identified as Yinka Falola.
The source further explained that the SARS Inspector slapped Falola, who was on the motorcycle coming from the farm where he had gone to assist his elder brother and the deceased retaliated.
The development was said to have infuriated the trigger happy police Inspector whose colleagues also described as habitual drunk, cocked his rifle and shot the deceased on the neck.
“Yinka was never a smuggler, he was a commercial driver. He had altercations with the SARS who were on illegal checking and the Policeman slapped him and he retaliated and the Policeman fired at close range killing him instantly”.
The SARS official was said to have insisted that Falola was a smuggler, which compelled him to fire the bullet that killed Falola.
The death of Falola however, triggered the reprisal attacks by the youths who mobilised themselves to the police check point and violently protested the killing.
Men of the special military security outfit, OP MESSA, who raced to the scene to appeal to the irate youths were also said to have been molested which also triggered another shoot-out.
Following the failure of the OP MESA to calm down the situation, the irate youths were said to have marched down to the SARS check point where they burnt two police vehicles and vandalised 12 others at the Oke – Odan police stating.
The crisis however, continued till yesterday when a police Inspector identified as Kolapo Lasisi also lost his life to the incident.
Inspector Lasisi was said to be running away from the daring youths when he got drowned in the swamp where he died.
When contacted, the command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muyiwa Adejobi confirmed the incident but added that the police Inspector was killed by the angry youths.
Adejobi emphasised that the youths carried out a midnight raid on the SARS check point where they macheted Inspector Lasisi to death and eventually buried him in the swamp and went away with his riffle.
PPRO further stated that the state Commissioner of Police, Ikhemefuna Okoye visited Oke – Odan town yesterday where he had meeting with the traditional ruler of the community over the matter.
Adejobi, who explained that the Inspector who killed Falola had already been locked up at the Command headquarters in Eleweran, also emphasised that the command had exhume the corpse of the Inspector killed by the youths from the swamp where they buried him.
“The two families of the late Falola as well as the slain Inspector are demanding for justice: we will ensure that justice is done and particularly that the riffle of the Inspector is still missing. We need our riffle and we must get it as well as the man who killed the Inspector”