From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Commandant of Oyo State Security Network Agency, also known as Amotekun Corps, Col Olayinka Olayanju (retd), has said that the shooting of a police special constabulary, Yekini Fatai, in Oyo town by an operative of the agency, Ibrahim Ogundele, was not intentional.
He made the remark in a statement made available to reporters in Ibadan on Monday by the media officer of the security agency, Mrs Ayolola Adedoja.
The police special constabularies were recruited recently for community policing. They were trained by the Nigeria Police Force and later deployed to their local governments of origin to strengthen security network of the country.
Ogundele is working with the Amotekun Corps at Isale-Oyo area, while Yekini is a Special Police Constabulary attached to Ojongbodu police station.
Olayanju said: ‘Amotekun operatives were invited by the police to join hands with them to dismantle a carnival stage. The carnival was held against the earlier warnings to the organisers by the police.
‘The carnival stage was dismantled unchallenged. But after this, the gun with Ogundele Ibrahim discharged accidentally and hit the community police officer in the thigh. The cause of this has not been known.
‘Yekini Fatai was rushed to the General Hospital in Oyo town, where he was treated and he has been discharged. I want to state categorically here that there was no feud of any kind between Ogundele Ibrahim and Yekini Fatai to warrant shooting him.’
Olayanju stated that the concerned Amotekun operative had been handed over to the police for proper investigation into the incident.
Police spokesman Olugbenga Fadeyi, who also confirmed the incident, said the Amotekun operative shot a police constabulary on his thigh when responding to youths staging a carnival.
‘This happened when the police personnel at Ojongbodu Division, Oyo, were responding to calls to dislodge recalcitrant youths, staging carnival after several warnings that such should not be staged.
‘The Amotekun personnel has since been arrested and is currently being investigated at Ojongbodu Police station,’ Fadeyi said.
