Clash with Law Enforcement: Osun Community and Commissioner of Police at Odds Over Detention of Traditional Leaders and Other Individuals

Ibrahim Gotan, the Osun State Police Commissioner, revealed on Monday that the command has taken three Ilobu chiefs and 16 other individuals into custody in connection with the attack on a police officer who was deployed to the town to maintain law and order.

n

The deployment of policemen to Ilobu, the headquarters of Irepodun Local Government, was made last week to address a boundary issue between the town and the neighboring Erin-Osun community, but one of the officers was attacked and dragged to the Olobu palace.

n

Initially, four persons were arrested in relation to the incident, and subsequently, 15 more suspects were apprehended by the police, with the commissioner vowing to resist any coordinated attacks against police officers across the state.

n

Among those arrested were three title holders: Chief Baale of Apeponroro, Olaitan Bashiru, Baale of OkeAyepe, Tajudeen Aralamo, and Oluode of Ilobu, Mustau Salam.

n

The Police Commissioner stated that the command will not tolerate any form of lawlessness or coordinated attacks against its personnel, and a decisive operation measure has been activated to track and arrest other suspects involved in the act.

n

Furthermore, he warned that any attempt by individuals or groups to shield or harbor suspects will attract severe legal consequences, emphasizing that the era of impunity is over.

n

Pastor Olufemi Salako, the president of Ilobu-Asake Development Union, claimed that the arrested suspects were not the perpetrators of the alleged crime, and instead, accused the police of raiding the community to conduct indiscriminate arrests.

n

Salako denied the involvement of the community and the palace in the attack on the policeman, explaining that the matter involved some individuals and the police, and hoodlums took advantage of the situation to attack them, with the palace intervening to rescue the officer from mob action.

n

The community leader emphasized that the perpetrators were not acting on the instruction of the community, but rather, the matter involved private individuals, and expressed regret that the situation ended as it did, while affirming the community's cooperation with security agencies.