Biodun Oyeleye, Ilorin
Angry mob yesterday overpowered policemen
at a police station located in Oro, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State,
setting a detainee on fire.
According to eyewitness, the
incident occurred at about 9.00am following the discovery of the corpse
of a commercial motorcyclist who had been missing since Sunday night.
The suspect, identified as
Femi Tete of Salawa area, Oro, had asked the cyclist to
take him to Agbamu, a neighbouring town. On the way, Femi lured the
cyclist into a bush and allegedly killed him, before stealing his
motorcycle. The deceased was identified as AbdulGaniyu Tunde,
popularly called, Afobaje of Oke-Ola.
Angry residents, along with members
of the commercial motorcycle association in the area, were said to have
descended on the police station, demanding that Femi be released to them. They
said that Femi had often been arrested and later released without
justification. The cyclists complained of incessant cases of cyclists being attacked and
killed in the same that AbdulGaniyu was killed.
When the police refused to hand over
Femi to them, the mob started hurling sachets water at the station. The police
were said to have fired shots into the air to disperse the crowd. Rather than
flee in fear as the gunshots, the mob became infuriated and descended on the
station.
A police source said: “The police
had to make a tactical withdrawal before calling for reinforcement from
the Area Command, Omuaran. The mob thereafter vandalised the station. The
mob also seized the suspect and set him ablaze. His corpse was moved to the general
hospital at Omuaran.”
The Kwara State Police Public
Relations Officer (PPRO), Ajayi Okasanmi, said that he was yet to be informed
of the incident as at the time of filing this report.
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