Attack on Police: CP, Osun community differ over chiefs, others’ arrests

By Shina Abubakar

Osun State Police Commissioner, Ibrahim Gotan, on Monday disclosed that the command has arrested three Ilobu chiefs and 16 other persons connected to the attack on a police personnel deployed to the town to maintain law and order.

He recalled that the command had last week deployed policemen to Ilobu, headquarters of Irepodun Local Government, to maintain peace on a boundary issue between the town and the neighbouring Erin-Osun community but one of the men was attacked and dragged to the Olobu palace.

He said four persons were initially arrested over the matter before another 15 suspects were also arrested by the police, vowing to resist any coordinated attack against police officers across the State.

Among the arrested persons were three titles: Chief, Baale of Apeponroro, Olaitan Bashiru, Baale of OkeAyepe, Tajudeen Aralamo and Oluode of Ilobu, Mustau Salam.

“The Command will not tolerate any form of lawlessness/ coordinated attack against its personnel. Decisive operation measure has been activated to track and arrest other suspects involved in the act. Furthermore, any attempt by individuals or groups to shield/harbor the suspect will attract severe legal consequences. The era of impunity is over,” he said.

However, the president of Ilobu-Asake Development Union, Pastor Olufemi Salako, said the arrested suspects were not the perpetrators of the alleged crime, adding that police were just raiding the community to conduct indiscriminate arrest.

He denied involvement of the community and the palace in the attack on the policeman, saying, “The matter involved some individuals with the police and some hoodlums took advantage of the situation to attack them. The palace only intervened to rescue the policeman from mob action.”

“The perpetrators are not acting on the instruction of the community, the matters involve private individuals, we are peace loving, it is regrettable that the matter ended that way. We have always cooperated with security agencies, they are our partners in peace.”

The post Attack on Police: CP, Osun community differ over chiefs, others’ arrests appeared first on Vanguard News.