2 Osun policemen lynched in Osun over extortion
From GABRIEL DIKE, Osogbo
Friday, December 18, 2009

The mood at the Osun State Police Command in the morning of Wednesday, December 9, 2009 was that of grief and soberness, as journalists arrived for a hurriedly organized press briefing over the killing of two of its men by irate commercial vehicle drivers at the Ora Igbomina, a bordary town between Osun andKwara States on one hand and Osun and Ekiti State.
The drivers were said to have launched a reprisal attack following the shooting to death of the local chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) the previous day.

The usually lively police headquarters wore a mournful look that day and this was reflected on the faces of the top police officers including the Commissioner of Police, Mr.John Moronike,
As Daily Sun learnt, , news had filtered into Osogbo about a bloody clash between the policemen at an observatory and members of the NURTW which led to the death of three persons, two police constables Nuhu Adejoh, Dosumu Akinola and the NURTW chairman, Chief Sagemo Abiodun Idowu.
Idowu’s head was allegedly blown off by gunshot. Two other policemen namely Corporals Adamu Yahaya and Okpe James were, however, rescued.

Daily Sun learnt that trouble started when the policemen at the observation point between the border states demanded for money from one of the commercial vehicle drivers plying the road. The driver reportedly haggled, complaining that the demanded amount was too high, for which he was delayed for hours. The said driver was said to have gone to the motorpark to seek the help of NURTW officials who accompanied him to the scene.

One of the men who accompanied the NURTW chairman to plead for the driver’s release disclosed that while negotiations was going on, one of the mobile policemen without provocation fired a shot which severed the head of Chief Idowu, the union leader, from his body.
In a swift retaliation, the drivers and passers-by mobilized and launched reprisal attack on the policemen, killing two of them- Constables Nuhu Adejoh and Dosumu Akinola while the other two took to their heels.

When the news of the death of the two policemen reached the police command, it dispatched a reinforcement of anti-riot policemen to bring the situation under control.
The team allegedly sacked the community and began man- hunt for the killers of their colleagues. They succeeded in rescuing the other two policemen who were held hostage.
Three days after the incident, the police authorities did not seem to have answers to what led to the killing of the NURTW chairman and the two policemen.
Rather, there are two versions of what led to the bloody clash.
One is that the command’s men impounded a “Tokunbo” Toyota Camry car at the observation points while the second is the one involving extortion from a bus driver.

According to the CP, the first information received was that one of the constables who shot Chief Idowu was his {Idowu} friend and that they had a drink together on Monday evening. while the second information on the incident revealed that it was a Toyota Camry car that was stopped and not a bus The police showed gory pictures of the two lynched officers and also the burnt police patrol van.
Moronike insisted that the situation regarding the bloody clash at Ora-Igbomina was not clear and that it wass only investigations being handled by the state CID that would unravel the true position of things.

However, the police commissioner warned that any community that killed policemen while on duty to protect lives and property would regret it, declaring that about 23 suspects were being detained at the state CID over the fracas. “We shall arrest more, those who killed the two policemen, burnt the van will be fished out. No innocent persons will be dealt with”, he assured.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Clement Akinola told Daily Sun that the two killed policemen were first butchered and later had petrol sprinkled on them and set ablaze.

The Chairman of the NURTW Osun State Council, Alhaji Tomori Adegboyega described the incident as unfortunate He debunked the insinuation making round that the police had detained the corpse of the slain NURTW chairman adding “we are waiting for the time the police will release the corpse. Chief Sagemo is a brother to the traditional ruler of the community. I heard from our members that his head was blown off andwe shall pursue the case legally.
According to him, NURTW is a peace loving organization that worked within the constitution and of the nation and that members had always been told to avoid any confrontation with the police who are meant to protect lives and property.
However, negative public reactions have trailed the killing of Chief Idowu by the police in Osun State, coming less that a month that a mobile policeman shot to death a 70-year old man returning from his son’s wedding as well as other numerous deaths at check points, without the killer ever being brought to book.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2009/dec/18/national-18-12-2009-04.htm

What shall we say to these things?

The two policemen are responsible of all the trouble because they demanded for money. They are victims of their own corrupt behavior. The police have to understand that drivers are sick and tired of policemen who are asking for money all the time.