The Oyo State Police Command has confirmed one person dead in the mayhem that occurred in the Oke-Ado area of Ibadan, Oyo State, on Monday.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Adekunle Ajisebutu, who spoke with The Punch in Ibadan, added that the command had yet to verify if the 46 people arrested at the crime scene were factional members of the Oodua Peoples Congress.
Residents in the affected areas had blamed two factions of the OPC for the pandemonium, saying that they were fighting for the control of the Oke-Ado area.
Ajisebutu said, “The Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Odude, has ordered a thorough investigation into the matter. Those who are found guilty of involvement in the crime will be charged to court. One person has been confirmed dead. We heard that the fight was between OPC factions, but we have to wait for investigations to be completed before we can confirm that.”
Meanwhile, the Aare Gani Adams faction of the OPC has denied any involvement in the mayhem, saying its members were not among the 46 suspects arrested by the state police command.
The Coordinator of the group, Rotimi Olumo, said in a statement that the fight was between two rival gangs in the Oke-Ado area of the town.
Olumo said the OPC in the state would collaborate with the police to apprehend those involved in the fight.
He added that his group was only invited by some respected people to quell the crisis in the area, which explained their presence at the scene.
But the Oyo State Public Relations Officer of the OPC New Era, Gbolahan Oladiran, in a statement, called on the police to hold Olumo and his group responsible for the crisis.
He accused the Aare Adams group of deliberately targeting the New Era members, stressing that the fight began on Saturday when two of his members were attacked at a pub in Ibadan.
The statement said, “The OPC New Era is using this medium to inform the Oyo State Government, the Commissioner of Police, Director of the Department of State Services and all other security agencies in the state to hold the Oyo State Coordinator of the OPC, Gani Adams faction, Rotimi Olumo, responsible for the series of mayhem recorded in some parts of the Ibadan metropolis.
“The latest of such personally-instigated mayhem was the one that happened on Saturday, January 27, at Iya Keji Beer Parlour, Oke-Ado area, where Olumo instructed his gang, led by Akin Osa, Sule Boko, Apatari and others, to attack the trio of Toye, Pastor Segun and DJ Pako, who are members of OPC New Era. It took the intervention of God and Good Samaritans for them to escape the place without being killed by Olumo’s gang.”
The national PRO of the group, Adesina Akinpelu, said five OPC New Era members were arrested by the police, adding that three members of the group had yet to be found.
