Police Arrest 18 Suspected Hoodlums Over Ibadan Clash
No fewer than 18 suspected hoodlums have been arrested by the Oyo State Police Command in connection with the havoc wrecked by warring faction groups in Ibadan.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abiodun Odude, disclosed that 18 suspects are now in police net in connection with the Tuesday and Wednesday mayhem between rival groups in some parts of Ibadan.
Odude dropped this hint during his visit to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, Aje Ogungunniso I, on the incident in his Popoyemoja palace after he inspected the affected areas namely Oke-Ado, Foko, Apena, Gege, Isale Osi, Born Photo, Oopoyeosa, and Popoyemoja.
“We have come to visit the scenes to truly see what is going on, and see if we can identify the leaders and talk to them, and make sure we keep this town as peaceful as possible.
“We are not going to give any of these boys a chance. Anyone of them we get, we will deal with him according to the law.
“The residents for the affected areas and people of Oyo State should just live peacefully. We are on top of the situation.” he said.
The Commissioner of Police, while advising parents to caution their children against troublemaking, asked youths in the troubled areas to desist from such nefarious activities, or be ready to face the music.
“Parents should appeal to their children, they should talk to them not to get involved in crimes, irrespective of the situation and unemployment is not an excuse for going into crimes. If children get involved in crimes, it can lead to something bigger than this,” he said.
Odude, while noting that the number of suspects arrested in connection with the crisis has risen from 14 to 18, said that the command is presently “screening them and we will charge them to court.
“It was just a breach of peace. The ‘area boys’ tried to be funny with themselves. But we thank God, they did not kill anybody, and they did not even kill themselves.
“We have been on this matter for three days persistently, day and night. The ‘area boys’ would just come out, attack themselves, and withdraw. We have been on their trails” he added.
The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, while receiving the police boss in his palace, said that he had been briefed on the fracas and had to summon the family heads (Mogajis) of the affected communities and their environs to an emergency meeting with a view to finding a lasting solution to the incessant bloodbath in volatile areas of Ibadan.
It will be recalled that during the two days mayhem, hoodlums in the affected areas burgled houses, destroyed some shops and other property worth millions of naira during which dangerous weapons such as guns, cutlasses, cudgels, broken bottles were said to have been freely used.
