BY AKINWALE ABOLUWADE, IBADAN
Residents of Iluju in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State have reportedly fled the community following the killing of a personnel of a joint military task force, Operation Burst.
The security team, comprising soldiers and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, were said to have been called to restore order at a football field where a match was to be played on Sunday when the incident happened.
It was gathered that trouble ensued when a resident of the community, who parked his motorcycle on the football field where the match between Iluju United and another team was to be played, insisted that he would not remove his vehicle.
This led to a fight that attracted security agents to restore peace in the area.
A resident, who identified himself simply as Joshua, alleged that during the argument that ensued, a soldier in the team fired a shot into the air.
He said, “One of the soldiers shot in the air and a young boy close to him heard the gunshot and fainted. But the youth, especially those who knew the boy, thought he had died.
“Some of them mobilised and attacked the soldiers. One of the soldiers was hit with an object and he died. The vehicle brought by Operation Burst was also vandalised.
“Immediately this happened, everybody, especially the youth and others, fled the town and ran inside the bush for fear of reprisal by the security agents.”
Another source said that a soldier in the security team shot a youth during the clash, adding that angry residents attacked the security men and killed one of them.
Many people were said to have fled to neighbouring towns and villages to escape the wrath of the soldiers.
A villager living near Iluju said that he planned to buy foodstuffs in the community on Monday but could not go because the town was deserted.
“Some of them said they ran into the bush on Sunday night and they had yet to come out for fear of being killed or arrested.
“Some of them said they had gone to stay with their relatives and friends in Ogbomoso and Ilorin and would not go back until they were sure they would not be attacked by the soldiers,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of Operation Burst in the state, Col. Oladipo Ajibola (retd.), has confirmed the incident.
He said, “A soldier was not killed, but an officer of Operation Burst. It was hoodlums who came en mass to overwhelm Operation Burst personnel on a distress call that killed the officer and set our vehicle ablaze.”
The Public Relations Officer of the NSCDC in Oyo State, Oyindamola Okuneye, said that she had yet to be briefed on the incident.
