Amotekun and Osun killings

Residents of Akinlalu community in Ife North council area of Osun State are crying for justice over the killing of at least three of their members by operatives of the Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Amotekun Corps, in the state. Amotekun is the local security outfit raised by governments of Southwest states to foster security at the grassroots in complement to operations of the Nigeria Police.

Akinlalu residents said an unprovoked attack visited on their community by Amotekun personnel on 30th September resulted in four fatalities and left nine others – mostly women and youths – severely injured. Among those killed were children of the Aro of Akinlalu, Chief Kamorudeen Oyebamiji. Official statements by the police and Amotekun acknowledged three fatalities and fewer injured persons. 

According to local accounts, operatives of the security outfit a day previously arrested suspected thieves at a village close to Akinlalu, who managed to overpower the operatives and snatched rifles from them. Apparently feeling challenged, masked corpsmen on Tuesday, 30th September, invaded the community to instill fear in residents and make them produce the stolen rifles. During that invasion, they allegedly shot indiscriminately, resulting in casualties among community residents.

Amotekun Corps, for its part, claimed that three people were killed, but said they were suspected hoodlums against whom its operatives acted in self-defence when they were attacked. “Our men were ambushed while attempting to retrieve two rifles forcibly taken from them during an earlier confrontation with suspected thieves. In the exchange of gunfire that followed, three of the attackers were neutralised,” a statement by corps spokesman, Idowu Yusuf, said.

The community denied, however, that those slain in the incident were hoodlums. Akinlalu monarch, Oba Oluwabusola Oloyede, demanded justice for the victims who, he argued, were innocent residents. “Upon our visit to Amotekun headquarters, their boss confirmed to us that he was the one who ordered the invasion, having instructed them to first visit the palace. However, they never came to the palace, but rather attacked innocent residents at the market square. Four people were killed while nine people were injured during the attack,” he was reported saying, as he implored Akinlalu youths to remain calm and believe in government’s capacity to bring erring corpsmen to justice. 

The Aro of Akinlalu who lost children to the incident said two of them were shot by hooded Amotekun operatives, and another was hacked down while trying to escape from the scene. The corpsmen reportedly took away the bodies of those slain in the attack, and it was at the intervention of state government officials that the bodies were released to bereaved relations. Community youth leader, Musibau Adeboye, also dismissed the claim that Amotekun operatives acted in self defence and insisted the attack was perpetrated by corpsmen suspected to be under the influence of drugs. “We heard there was theft of farm produce at Abaoba, a village under Akinlalu. Amotekun men went there and arrested suspects. Later, we learnt two rifles were seized from them by the sons of a retired soldier. The next day, they returned heavily armed and started shooting indiscriminately,” he said.

The corps has waged a battle of self-justification by spinning narratives portraying its operatives as endangered in their line of duty. Concerning the Akinlalu violence, the spokesman insisted operatives acted in self-defence. He said in a statement that hoodlums earlier ambushed men from the agency’s Ile-Ife command responding to a distress call from Akinlalu, and forcibly took three rifles from them. A backup team dispatched to the scene, according to him, was also attacked by the hoodlums at Akinlalu junction, leading to a gunfight in which three people lost their lives. “Upon receiving news of the ambush, reinforcement operatives were deployed and approached Akinlalu with the intention of engaging peacefully, including paying a courtesy visit to the traditional ruler of the town. However, at the T-junction leading into Akinlalu, the road was found barricaded by the assailants, who immediately opened fire on the operatives, triggering a fierce gun battle that lasted over an hour. Despite the intensity of the attack, Amotekun operatives successfully overpowered the assailants. In the aftermath of the encounter, three lives were confirmed lost, including individuals believed to be among the attackers,” he said.

“It will be a tragedy if Osun government shields suspects of the Akinlalu killings”

Barely a week after the incident, the corps plied another claim of an assassination attempt against its boss. Corps Commander Adekunle Omoyele, a retired Brigadier-Gen., alleged that he escaped the attempt in an ambush by gunmen in Osogbo. A statement by the corps spokesman said the ambush occurred penultimate Monday at about 10:05p.m. along Ikirun road in Osogbo, as Omoyele was driving home in his private vehicle. “I had left the office, driving home with my two-door vehicle. When I got to Kobo, some armed men suddenly appeared in a moving vehicle, double side-by-side with my car and started firing. Their faces were covered, and before I could react, they opened fire on my vehicle. Bullets riddled the car. I didn’t stop. I kept driving through the hail of gunfire. I was hit, but I managed to escape,” the corps commander was reported saying, adding that the incident was reported to the police.

The police weighed in and vowed that culprits of the Akinlalu violence would face justice. Apparently in line with that commitment, some Amotekun men were arrested penultimate Wednesday by a special squad of policemen who stormed the corps’ operational bases in Oke-fia, Osogbo, and Ife Central division in Ile-Ife, which they also sealed off. Reports said the police officers arrived unannounced and whisked away corpsmen found on site before shutting down the bases. 

The Amotekun spokesman acknowledged the clampdown. “Some policemen came, but they didn’t seal our headquarters. They burst our operational base in Oke-fia and the Ife Central command. They also arrested about 20 of our operatives. We don’t know where they took our personnel,” he said. Osun police command spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, a Superintendent of Police (SP), also confirmed the operation but said only five Amotekun operatives were taken into custody and not 20 as claimed by the corps. He added that Police Inspector-General Kayode Egbetokun had taken over investigation into the Akinlalu killings and reported assassination attempt on the Amotekun commander. “Investigation revealed that the attackers were members of Amotekun corps. Five suspects have been arrested, while others remain at large,” Ojelabi said, adding that Omoyele was invited to explain his role but he failed to honour the invitation. “Efforts to reach him on phone proved abortive as his line has been switched off. He later went on social media claiming he was attacked by unknown armed men wearing masks, which preliminary investigation shows to be a figment of his imagination aimed at derailing justice,” the police stated.

Earlier, the command said it could not commence full-scale probe of the alleged assassination bid, even though a formal complaint was filed, because Omoyele failed to provide proof of the claim. “According to the report he made that he was attacked, the police have gone to the scene and we have told him to come along with the vehicle. He will have to produce the vehicle and other things to prove the incident before we can talk of an investigation,” Ojelabi told journalists.

Since the Akinlalu violence, the Amotekun commander has withheld from submitting to the police, and neither has the Osun government that appointed him called him to question. When he visited the community to pay condolences early last week, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke vowed that all those involved in the killings will face the wrath of the law. But in response to the community’s call for suspension of Omoyele, the governor only said the matter had been referred to Amotekun board for thorough investigation. “On the request for the suspension of the Amotekun commandant, the matter is ongoing. As I speak, it has been handed over to Amotekun Chairman Wale Abass for proper investigation,” he said.

There are questions begging for answer. For one, why a parallel probe when there’s been no cooperation with police investigation of the same incident? It shouldn’t take much for Amotekun bosses to clarify the outfit’s role through the police probe, unless there’s inter-agency mistrust on dealing justice. And an assassination attempt involving a gunfight shouldn’t be difficult to back up with evidence, especially as Omoyele said his car was riddled with bullets and he himself was hit before managing to escape. It will be a tragedy if Osun government shields suspects of the Akinlalu killings, which is an albatross that can only be relieved with justice for the victims. And the earlier that gets done, the better.