Oyo State Commissioner of Police Ngozi Onadeko says the seven persons arraigned in connection with the Shasha crisis are to be released.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, Onadeko said the seven persons are to be released following the receipt of legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) that those arrested had “no case to answer.”
She explained that the DPP’s advice was just received that the accused persons had no case to answer, and should be released. This is just as the police boss cleared the police of bias or favouritism, saying the suspects were handed over to them by the military.
Onadeko disclosed that the suspects were with the Nigerian Army, which arrested them for 11 or 12 days, before they were handed over to the police.
She said the handover was followed with investigation and subsequent arraignment in court on holden charge, with the seeking of legal advice from the DPP.
When asked to comment on people’s anger on non-arraignment of the Hausa also, despite being accused of burning down hundreds of buildings and shops, the police commissioner reiterated that ethnic or religious coloration should not be given to crime.
“It’s out of question when seven suspects were handed over to us. The question is: was there any crime committed?
“It is not an issue of whether they are Yoruba or Igbo. Let us stop giving crime ethnic or religious coloration,” she said.
Also, at the press briefing, Onadeko spoke on how the state police command got news on the trouble that surfaced in Ayete during an arrest by the members of Oodua People’s Congress on Sunday. According to her, the Area Commander and Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ayete called at about 9:00 a.m., to inform the command that some people attacked a Fulani camp. Three persons, including a Fulani, known as Wakili, were arrested and taken to Igboora Division.
“On getting the information, I directed the Area Commander and DPO to find out what happened, while they should bring the three people arrested to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku, in Ibadan.
“When they got to the State CID, the management team interrogated them. It was there we found out that three people that came with three others were OPC members.
“They had been trying to arrest Wakili. From their narration, they said that they got to the camp, and Wakili and others attacked them,” Onadeko stated.
She added that in the process of the attack, the OPC members arrested Wakili and two others. She said that the police however learnt that as the OPC left the camp with the suspects, some set the camp on fire, and a woman was shot in the stomach, with her intestines gushing out, leading to her death. The state police boss said that all the suspects were being interrogated, with their statements taken.
She enjoined those with complaints about Wakili to approach the State CID to register such, promising to investigate it to a logical conclusion. She further disclosed that Wakili was initially taken to hospital when he was brought to the State CID, as he was seen gasping.
