Friday, March 29, 2024

Fresh violence rocks Ife as angry youths attack police for killing resident

Fresh violence erupted in Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Sunday as some angry youths of the town took to the streets in protest against the alleged killing of a resident by policemen deployed to quell the ethnic clash that erupted in the ancient city last month.
Trouble started after a team of police men stormed a venue of a naming ceremony at Iremo area of Ile-Ife, where the victim, identified as Yemi, was in attendance, and accused of involvement in cyber fraud known as “yahoo yahoo.”
The police, according to eye witnesses, had attempted to arrest Yemi, but he resisted, saying he was accused wrongly.
 This led to altercation and disagreement between the policemen and the 27-year-old Yahoo Yahoo suspect before a policeman allegedly opened fire on him.
Realising that Yemi had been shot to death, guests at the naming ceremony held about 11am on Sunday, attacked the policemen and embarked on a violent protest in the town.
The demonstration by the irate youths, including touts, led to a breakdown of law and order as they attacked passersby, beat them and seized their phones. They also mounted road blocks and made bonfires, while commercial activities in the area were paralysed.
The development sent fears and panic to the recently troubled areas as residents hurriedly shut their doors while church goers were sent back to their homes.
Efforts by the police to curtail the protests yielded little efforts, despite teargasing them. 
When the irate protesters saw an Armored Personal Carrier being driven to the scene of the protest, they regrouped and started throwing missiles at every policeman on sight. The protesters did not spear journalists as they attacked one of them for taking photographs of the protest. They damaged his camera.
An eye witness, who was going to a church, told our correspondent that Yemi was shot by the police and that he died instantly. The source, who identified himself as Michael, said two other guests at the naming ceremony sustained gunshot injuries.
Our correspondent further learnt that the two men that sustained injuries were rushed to the Obafemi Awolowo Unuversity Teaching Hospital in the town for treatment.
When contacted by our correspondent on the telephone to confirm the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Folashade Odoro, did not pick calls put to her telephone as at the time of filing this report.
 

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