There was pandemonium at Oke-Baale Area of Osogbo on Sunday after police shot a resident of the area during a confrontation with thugs.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the confrontation ensued when a team of policemen went to AUD Primary School in the area to arrest a thug.
According to an eye witness, Mr. Akeem Oladele, two policemen went to the primary school to effect the arrest of the thug who had previously, with his gang, attacked a rival gang member with cutlass.
He said the suspect who the police wanted to arrest was with his gang at the school, where they were smoking India hemp.
With the backing of his gang members, he resisted the arrest and they chased the policemen with stones and other dangerous weapons.
They also damaged police vehicle in the process.
A police reinforcement released tear-gas and some gun shots.
In the pandemonium, a stray bullet hit one Mr. Segun Emir in the chest and was rushed to a private hospital and subsequently to Ladoke Akintola Teaching Hospital in Osogbo where he died.
Youths in the area thereafter barricaded the streets in protest of the death, preventing vehicular and human movement, before a combined team of mobile policemen and DSS dispersed them.
The Osun Police Public Relation Officer, Mr. Folasade Odoro, said the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Fimihan Adeoye, had ordered a full investigation into the matter.
The PPRO explained that the deceased was among the touts that attacked a police patrol team and prevented the policemen from rescuing some people who made a distress call to the police.
“We received a distress call that over 50 thugs led by Akaje, Ora and Epo were harassing innocent people at Aloyunkewu, Imole nfe Alaafia Street, Lion Junction, Ori Eeru, Oke Allahu all at Oke Baale area in Osogbo and that peoples’ lives were in danger.”
“Policemen were deployed to the scene swiftly to rescue people and when the police patrol team got there, the thugs attacked the policemen with dangerous weapons.’’
