The Oyo State Security Network Agency, popularly known as Operation Amotekun has said that its men killed a leader of an armed robbery gang and not a student of the University of Ibadan as being claimed by the National Association of Nigerian Students.

The NANS and the family of Akolade Gbadebo, who was a 400-level student of the Federal College of Education (Special) Oyo, affiliated with the University of Ibadan, had accused Amotekun of killing the student. They said the slain student was not an armed robber contrary to the claims of the security outfit.

But the commandant of Amotekun in Oyo State, Col. Olayanju Olayinka (retd.) in a statement on Saturday said his men only had an encounter with a three-man robbery gang and killed its leader. He added that the two surviving members of the gang were handed to the Atiba Police Station in Oyo town.

The statement read in part, “On Sunday 20th December, 2020, at about 0040hrs (past 12midnight), a mobile patrol team of “Amotekun operatives from Oyo East and Atiba Local Government Areas ran into an illegal roadblock mounted around Sabo area in Oyo town, opposite old Isale Oyo Community Bank along Oyo – Ogbomoso expressway.

“While the team was attempting to clear the barricade to facilitate smooth passage for interstate commercial vehicles plying the road, a group of armed men suspected to be robbers fired at the Amotekun operation and a gun duel ensued.

In the process, one of the robbers nicknamed Akin Sarz was neutralized and two other gang members were arrested at the scene with a locally made pistol with cartridges.

“Preliminary investigation conducted at Atiba Police post revealed the identity of the deceased as a student of the Federal College of Education Special(SPED), Oyo and a known cultist. The gang members confirmed that the deceased was their gang leader and that they have been terrorising the general area of Afijio and Oyo township for some time.”

But a younger brother of the deceased, Habeeb, when contacted told our correspondent said his brother was not an armed robber nor a cultist.

He described the claim of the Amotekun commandant as falsehood, saying the security outfit was “concocting lies to cover their wicked act.”

He said, “My brother was not an armed robber, they are just looking for different lies to cover their wickedness, their first reaction to the killing of my brother was different. They said there was no killing either of a student or of anybody.

“I believe they did not know that the killing would attract public attention and now that it has become a public discussion, they are fabricating another lie and that is why they are now labeling him as an armed robber.

“The two persons they claimed to arrest at the scene even said they arrested them where they were eating. They said they did not know my brother, so you can see that they are not saying the truth.”

https://infonets.com.ng/Thread-Amotekun-Family-Disagree-Over-The-Killing-of-UI-Student

Amotekun should do everything possible to avoid anything extrajudicial.

God knows the truth

The truth will unveil soon by God grace.

Western sars