It would be recalled that a bloody clash ensued between some Fulani herdsmen and members in the community at the market square leading to the death of two people on April 30. However, the police high command in Abuja intervened in the clash by dispatching a team of investigators who allegedly whisked away six members of the community.
The community under the aegis of Oro-Ago Development (ODU) called for the release of its people. The crisis however took a new twist last Friday when another set of policemen from Abuja allegedly invaded the community and shot sporadically into the air killing one woman in the process while five other members of the community were reportedly arrested and taken to the FCT.
The deceased whose name was given as Bolatito Balogun was said to have been shot by the police during a protest staged by some women over the arrest of their men.
The ODU through its President, Chief Richard Olusola, said another woman named Tope Ologemo hit by the police bullet is still recuperating in the hospital.
Addressing a press conference in Ilorin, the community said the police were partial to the Fulani herdsmen. He urged the IGP Solomon Arase to fish out the police officer that pulled the trigger which killed the late Mrs. Ologemo.
He said: “A more nauseating, provoking and pathetic incident occurred on Friday June 12, 2015. Another set of police officers just like that of April from IGP office, Abuja, fully armed stormed the community as early as 7am and started shooting indiscriminately and arrested our people. The action was contrary to what they told our monarch, Oba Johnson O. Dada, the previous day that they were in the community on a peace mission and to visit places where the incident occurred as well as the place where one Seriki Bamo, who was the complainant to the office of IG on the first incident was killed about a week ago. The indiscriminate shooting led to our people running helter-skelter and scampering for safety. The police went away with at least five of our men. We say five because some people are still missing after the incident and their whereabouts still unknown. The five we can identify are Oladele Ponle, Chief Asanlu Salawu, Karimu Aremu, Rasaki Illa and Tunde Abolaji.”
When contacted, spokesperson of the state police command, Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed that the case was being investigated by the police headquarters in Abuja, adding that investigation into the alleged killing on Friday had commenced.
He said: “Some Fulanis and the natives had a scuffle that led to the death of some people of Oro-Ago. The force CID requested that the matter be transferred to Abuja for further investigation and we did that. Since they have taken over the case from us, they have every authority to go anywhere in this country to get to the root of the entire matter. It was in furtherance of that matter that two or three of them came for further investigation which I may not be competent to talk about. But the fact remains that in the course of their investigation, there was an issue and a woman died and she was taken to a hospital. We have to get the autopsy report to know what led to her death.”
